private placement fraud lawyer Tag Archives

National Securities Advisor Troy Goldberg Has Private Placement Complaints

April 5, 2021 | by Staff Attorney

Advisor Troy Goldberg (Goldberg), currently employed by National Securities (National Securities) has been subject to at least 13 customer complaints during the course of his career. According to a BrokerCheck report the six most recent customer complaints filed since 2019 appear to concern unsuitable investments in private placements investments. These allegations may concern investments in GPB Capital Holdings (GPB Capital) related investments. National Securities is known to have approved their brokers to sell GPB Capital to their clients.

On February 4, 2021 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (DOJ), and seven states filed separate simultaneous actions against GPB Capital and other defendants connected to the firm accusing it of being a Ponzi-like scheme. In a press release the SEC stated that it “charged three individuals and their affiliated entities with running a Ponzi-like scheme that raised over $1.7 billion…”

As reported by Bloomberg “If proved, [GPB] would be one of the largest such schemes to target individual investors since the massive frauds of Bernard Madoff and Robert Allen Stanford came to light.” The DOJ indicted David Gentile, the founder of GPB, Jeffry Schneider, the owner and CEO of Ascendant Capital LLC, and Jeffrey Lash, a former managing partner of GPB relating to the fraud. If convicted, the defendants each face up to 20 years’ imprisonment.[1]

Mark Robare Has Complaint Over Alternative Investment Sales Practices

June 24, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

Advisor Mark Robare (Robare), currently employed by Triad Advisors LLC (Triad Advisors) has been subject to at least one customer complaint and one regulatory matter during the course of his career. According to a BrokerCheck report one customer complaint concerns alternative investments such as direct participation products (DPPs) like business development companies (BDCs), non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), oil & gas programs, annuities, and private placements. The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP have represented hundreds of investors who suffered losses caused by these types of high risk, low reward products.

In March 2020 a customer complained that Robare violated the securities laws by alleging that Robare engaged in sales practice violations related to an unsuitable investment strategy beginning in 2014. The claim alleges $500,000 and is currently pending.

In September 2014 the SEC alleged that Robare used Fidelity Investments for clearing services for its advisory clients whereby Robare entered into a revenue sharing arrangement with Fidelity Investments in 2004. In this arrangement, Fidelity paid Robare to invest in certain mutual funds offered on Fidelity’s platform and Robare received nearly $400,000 from Fidelity from 2005 to 2013 as a result of the arrangement. The SEC claimed that Robare modified its Form ADV disclosures in December 2011 after Fidelity advised Robare that it would cease making payments if the arrangements were not disclosed. The SEC fined Robare $50,000.

William Braun Has Complaints Over Private Placement Sales Practices

May 11, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

Advisor William Braun (Braun), currently employed by National Securities Corporation (National Securities), has been subject to at least eight customer complaints and regulatory action during the course of his career. According to a BrokerCheck report some of the customer complaints concern private placements. The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP have represented hundreds of investors who suffered losses caused by these types of high risk products.

In January 2020 a customer complained that Braun violated the securities laws by alleging that Braun engaged in sales practice violations related to breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and unsuitable recommendations concerning investment(s) in private placements. The claim alleges $125,000 and is currently pending.

In November 2019 a customer complained that Braun violated the securities laws by alleging that Braun engaged in sales practice violations related to unsuitable recommendations concerning investment(s) in private placements. The claim alleges $200,000 and is currently pending.

Timothy Touloukian Has Complaints Over Private Placement Sales Practices

May 3, 2020 | by Staff Attorney

Advisor Timothy Touloukian (Touloukian), currently employed by Paulson Investment Company LLC (Paulson Investment), has been subject to at least four customer complaints, two employment terminations for cause, four regulatory actions, and two judgement or tax liens during the course of his career. According to a BrokerCheck report some of the customer complaints concern private placements. The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP have represented hundreds of investors who suffered losses caused by these types of high risk products.

In 2011 Touloukian was terminated by Advanced Equities, Inc. – a firm that was itself expelled from the securities industry over its sales practices – for selling a private equity investment to a non-qualified investors.

In January 2020 a customer complained that Touloukian violated the securities laws by alleging that Touloukian engaged in sales practice violations related mading material misrepresentations concerning an investment in a private placement. The claim alleges $500,000 and is currently pending.

In January 2020 another customer complained that Touloukian violated the securities laws by alleging that Touloukian engaged in sales practice violations related mading material misrepresentations concerning an investment in a private placement. The claim alleges $200,000 and is currently pending.

Private placement offerings are among the most speculative and costly investment products offered to retail investors. While the size of the private placement market is unknown, according to 2008 estimates, companies issued approximately $609 billion of securities through Regulation D offerings. Private placements allow many small companies to efficiently raise capital. However, regulators continue to find significant problems in the due diligence and sales efforts of some brokerage firms when selling private placements to investors. These problems include fraud, misrepresentations and omissions in sales materials and offering documents, conflicts of interest, and suitability abuses.