Securities Arbitration Lawyer Blog
Iorio Altamirano LLP, a leading securities arbitration law firm, has filed a case through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Dispute Resolution Services’ arbitration forum against Aegis Capital Corp.
The claim, which Iorio Altamirano LLP filed on behalf of an investor in the GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP fund, seeks to recover investment losses as a result of the investment advisor’s recommendation to invest in GPB Capital.
GPB Capital sold unregistered and high commission limited partnership interests in a total of eight alternative-asset investment funds. The GPB Funds were marketed to independent broker-dealers and investment advisers who would, in turn, sell the GPB Funds to their retail investors. There are serious concerns that broker-dealers may have failed to conduct reasonable due diligence about the GPB Funds and GPB Capital.
Iorio Altamirano LLP is a securities arbitration law firm that is actively representing investors in the GPB Funds, including GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP.
GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP and the GPB Funds
GPB Capital had four flagship funds, which were sold as private placement offerings. GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP was one of the four offerings.
GPB Automotive’s regulatory filings from May 2021 disclosed that there was substantial doubt that the business would survive.
In July 2021, GPB Automotive disclosed that it was able to obtain a financing agreement with M&T Bank but that it only had sufficient liquidity to meet its financial obligations through July 21, 2022.
In September 2021, according to SEC filings, GPB Automotive Portfolio LP entered into an agreement to sell Prime Automotive for $880 million, consisting of 30 car dealerships and three collision centers located in the Northeast of the United States. Once the sale is complete, GPB Automotive Portfolio will own no car dealerships outright.
In light of the recent news, the future of GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP remains uncertain. Investors of GPB Automotive Portfolio LP are encouraged to act now and contact our securities arbitration law firm for a free consultation and review of their legal rights.
Investors who purchased any of the following private placement investments issued by GPB Capital should contact securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential consultation and review of their legal rights:
- GPB Holdings, LP / GPB Holdings Qualified, LP.
- GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP.
- GPB Holdings II, LP.
- GPB Waste Management, LP.
The SEC has charged GPB Capital and related entities, Ascendant Capital and Ascendant Alternative Strategies, with running a Ponzi-like scheme that raised roughly $1.8 billion from securities issued by GPB Capital. The SEC believes that as many as 17,000 retail investors nationwide have been defrauded.
How to Recover GBP Investment Losses
GPB Automotive investors should immediately contact a securities arbitration law firm to review their legal rights.
Investors who have purchased GPB Automotive, GPB Holdings, GPB Holdings II, or GPB Waste Management through a broker or brokerage firm have successfully recovered investment losses by filing securities arbitration claims.
For example, in August 2021, a FINRA arbitration panel in New York, New York, ruled in favor of a brokerage customer that invested in GPB Automotive Portfolio LP and GPB Waste Management LP at the recommendation of his financial advisor at Hightower Securities, LLC.
The arbitration panel ordered Hightower Securities, LLC to refund $163,201 to the customer in exchange for returning the limited partnership interests, essentially making the customer whole. The customer had purchased the limited partnership interests for $170,000 and had previously received $6,799 from the investments as a return of capital.
Brokers and brokerage firms, such as Aegis Capital Corp, are obligated to make suitable recommendations in their customers’ best interests. Among other things, the broker must have a reasonable basis to believe that a recommendation is suitable for a customer based on the particular customer’s investment profile. In addition, the broker and firm must have a reasonable basis to believe, based on reasonable diligence, that the recommendation is suitable for at least some investors. FINRA has stated that “reasonable diligence” means that the firm’s and/or broker’s due diligence “must provide the firm or associated person with an understanding of the potential risks and rewards of the recommended security or strategy.”
Brokerage firms may have failed to conduct reasonable diligence into the GPB funds before selling the private placement offerings to their customers. The firms’ compliance departments likely ignored or missed many red flags such as inflated revenue reports, fabricated profits, kickbacks, and investor funds being funneled into the pockets of GPB’s principals.
If you were an investor in the GPB funds, contact securities arbitration lawyers August Iorio and Jorge Altamirano of Iorio Altamirano LLP at august@ia-law.com, jorge@ia-law.com, or toll-free at (855) 430-4010 for a free and confidential consultation and review of your legal rights.
About Iorio Altamirano LLP
Iorio Altamirano LLP is a national securities arbitration law firm based in New York, NY. The law firm pursues FINRA arbitration claims nationwide on behalf of investors to recover financial losses arising out of wrongful conduct by financial advisors and brokerage firms.
We have nearly 20 years of combined experience as securities arbitration lawyers and have helped investors recover investment losses in over 1,000 cases. Our firm will file a FINRA securities arbitration claim on your behalf to recover your losses. We generally represent clients on a contingency fee basis. If we do not obtain a recovery, you do not owe us a legal fee.