Articles Posted in International Assets Advisory

On April 21, 2023, United States Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur approved GWG’s Disclosure Statement that will be sent to creditors to vote on GWG’s Chapter 11 Plan (the “Plan”). The approval of the Disclosure Statement comes one year and one day after GWG filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The Plan will now be sent to creditors, including L Bondholders, to accept or reject the Plan. GWG’s Plan is essentially an “orderly” liquidation. If the Plan is accepted, GWG will be liquidated in accordance with the terms of the Plan. If the Plan is rejected, GWG will likely be liquidated in accordance with Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Either way, GWG will be liquidated and will not continue as a business. Creditors will need to decide which path of liquidation will be more favorable to them.

We believe that it is highly unlikely that L Bondholders will obtain a quick and full recovery through either the Chapter 11 Plan or a Chapter 7 liquidation.

**Update – April 22, 2023:** On April 21, 2023, the Bankruptcy Court approved GWG’s further revised Disclosure Statement for its Second Amended Reorganization Plan. The Plan will now be sent to creditors, including L Bondholders, to accept or reject the Plan.  For more information, please visit our most recent blog post: What L Bondholders Need to Know About GWG Holdings, Inc.’s Chapter 11 Plan.

**Update – April 13, 2023:**  On April 13, 2023, GWG submitted a revised Disclosure Statement for its Second Amended Reorganization Plan that provides creditors with more information about potential recoveries. However, the amount bondholders will recover under the proposed restructuring plan remains extremely uncertain and will likely take multiple years to bear fruit. To read more, check out our latest blog post: GWG Bankruptcy Update (April 17, 2023): Liquidation Options Become Clearer as Recovery for Bondholders Remain Uncertain

As GWG Holdings, Inc. continues to navigate the bankruptcy process, Iorio Altamirano LLP urges L bondholders to contact the firm to evaluate their other legal options to recover their investment losses.  Iorio Altamirano LLP represents GWG L Bondholders throughout the country in FINRA arbitration claims against the brokerage firms and financial advisors that recommended and sold the L Bonds to retail investors.

**Update: February 1, 2023** On February 1, 2023, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas unsealed several significant court filings, including a draft legal complaint.  The complaint was filed by the Official Committee of Bondholders of GWG Holdings Inc. (“Bondholder Committee”) against certain current and/or former directors and officers of GWG Holdings, Inc., individuals, and corporate entities affiliated with or controlled by Brad Heppner, transferees of certain fraudulent transfers, and key broker-dealers who marketed and sold L Bonds.  The Bondholder Committee represents the interests of GWG L Bondholders in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.

The unsealed complaint has revealed the following allegations, which were made after the bondholder committees reviewed documents and information that are currently not in the public domain:

  • Together with other insiders, Brad Heppner was the mastermind behind a Ponzi scheme whereby GWG, in conjunction with its broker-dealer network, sold hundreds of millions worth of L Bonds to retail investors even when it became clear that the only way to repay those investors was to sell yet more L Bonds to more retail investors.

After filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month and failing to file its annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year, GWG Holdings, Inc. will now be delisted from Nasdaq.   On May 17, 2022, the Nasdaq Stock Market announced that it would delist the common stock of GWG Holdings, Inc.  Since April 29, 2022, the stock has been suspended and has not been traded.

New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP is investigating potential legal claims related to investments in L Bonds offered by GWG Holdings, Inc. (GWGH). To read about the investigation’s findings, including a crucial event timeline, please visit our website:  www.gwglawyer.com.

GWG Holdings, Inc.’s bankruptcy filing revealed for the first time that the ongoing SEC investigation includes an examination of sales practices of the GWG L Bonds by the brokerage firms that sold the securities, including Emerson Equity and its network of regional broker-dealers.  According to the bankruptcy filing,  the United States Securities and Exchange Commission issued subpoenas and documents to individual brokerage firms selling GWG L Bonds.  As of the bankruptcy filing, GWG  Holdings, Inc.’ had over $1.62 billion in outstanding GWG L Bond obligations, mostly owed to retail investors.

After months of working with legal and financial advisors to try and restructure outside of court, on April 20, 2022, GWG Holdings, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The bankruptcy filing is a significant and troublesome development for GWG L Bond investors who invested substantial portions of their life savings into GWG L Bonds. According to GWG’s latest filing with the SEC, GWG has more than $1.6 billion in aggregate principal outstanding to GWG L Bond investors. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy will allow GWG Holdings to propose a reorganization plan.

Investment News has reported that one anonymous GWG L bond investor estimates that the GWG L Bonds may now be worth 20 to 30 cents on the dollar.  Despite the unwelcomed news, GWG L bond investors are not without recourse. Many retail investors, including those represented by securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP, are filing securities arbitration claims against brokerage firms that sold these speculative, high-risk, and illiquid financial products.  These actions are separate and in addition to the bankruptcy proceedings.

GWG Holdings’ bankruptcy filing revealed for the first time that the ongoing investigation by the United States States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) includes an examination of sales practices of the GWG L Bonds by the Selling Group, including  Emerson Equity LLC and its network of regional broker-dealers.  According to the recent bankruptcy filing, the SEC issued subpoenas and document requests to individual brokerage firms beginning in late-2021.

Over the past calendar year, GPB Capital investors have won over $2.4 million in monetary awards in 10 out of 11 (nearly 91%) arbitration claims that have proceeded to a final hearing.  According to public records, many other claims filed against broker-dealers who sold the private placements offered by GPB Capital have been settled for monetary compensation.

The judgments and awards come after years of filing lawsuits and arbitration claims by GPB Capital investors.

For our latest posts related to GPB Capital, please click here.

FINRA has suspended International Assets Advisory, LLC broker Ronald Patrick Cameron from the securities industry for five weeks for engaging in an outside business activity without providing prior written notice to his firm. The suspension is scheduled to start on May 17, 2021, and end on June 20, 2021. Cameron was also fined $5,000.

If you have lost money with Ronald Patrick Cameron, or International Assets Advisory, LLC, contact FINRA arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.

FINRA Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”)

International Assets Advisory, LLC is a broker-dealer and registered investment advisor (RIA) headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

The firm has faced FINRA arbitration complaints from customers seeking to recover GPB investment losses. Houston-based broker Williams Keen Butcher was involved in one such customer complaint. He has been registered with International Assets Advisory since April 2015. Additionally, former firm broker Jingbo Pan may have recommended GPB Capital funds or other investments in private placement offerings to clients. He was registered with the firm between April 2014 and August 2018.

Iorio Altamirano LLP is investigating claims on behalf of defrauded investors who were victims in the GPB funds scheme. The GPB funds were marketed to independent broker-dealers and investment advisers who would, in turn, sell the GPB funds to their retail investors. According to publicly available records filed with the SEC, International Assets Advisory, LLC likely received sales compensation for selling the GPB funds to retail investors.

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