investor advocates

Joseph Stone Capital Broker Douglas Rosenberg Suspended by FINRA – Hauppauge, NY

Published on: January 3, 2022 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has suspended Joseph Stone Capital L.L.C. broker Douglas Rosenberg from the securities industry for seven months. Rosenberg consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he excessively and unsuitably traded the accounts of three customers. As a result of Rosenberg’s unsuitable recommendations, his customers suffered a total of over $154,000 in realized losses and paid a total of $89,652 in commissions, trading costs, and margin interest.

Rosenberg’s suspension is scheduled to begin on January 3, 2022, and end on August 2, 2022. He was also ordered to pay partial restitution to the three customers of $25,000.

If you have lost money with Douglas Rosenberg, or Joseph Stone Capital L.L.C., contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.

GPB Investors Encouraged to File Arbitration Claims in 2022 to Preserve Legal Rights

Published on: January 3, 2022 | by Iorio Altamirano

Investors who purchased GPB funds in 2016 through a broker-dealer need to act now to preserve their legal rights. Failure to file an arbitration claim may prevent recovery of investment losses. Time is running out. GPB investors should act in 2022.

Key Takeaways:

Investors can potentially recover investment losses by filing claims against broker-dealers or investment-advisory firms that sold GPB private placement offerings for large commissions.

The Founder and Former CEO of GPB Capital Now Wants GPB Capital to Pay Legal Fees to Defend Him Against Criminal and Civil Fraud Charges

Published on: December 23, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

David Gentile, the disgraced founder and former CEO of GPB Capital Holdings LLC, has sued GPB Capital. Mr. Gentile seeks to make GPB Capital, which an independent court-appointed monitor is now overseeing, cover the legal costs for his defense against criminal and civil securities fraud.

In February 2021, Mr. Gentile was criminally charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy in federal court. The criminal complaint alleged that Mr. Gentile, among others, engaged in a scheme to defraud investors by misrepresenting the source of funds used to make monthly distributions to investors and the amount of revenue generated by two of GPB’s investment funds, GPB Holdings, LP, and GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP.

Separately, the SEC has charged Mr. Gentile, GPB Capital, and related entities 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.

Donna Jean Hines, Formerly with Cetera Advisors LLC, BARRED by FINRA – Clarksburg, WV

Published on: November 19, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has barred former Cetera Advisors LLC broker Donna Jean Hines from the securities industry. Hines consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that she refused to appear for on-the-record testimony in connection with FINRA’s investigation into whether she facilitated a customer’s bitcoin investment for compensation. The FINRA findings stated that although Hines initially cooperated with FINRA’s investigation, she eventually ceased doing so.

If you have lost money with Donna Jean Hines, or Cetera Advisors LLC, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.

Iorio Altamirano LLP represents investors nationwide that have disputes with their financial advisors or brokerage firms.

Steven Musielski, Formerly with Cambria Capital, LLC, BARRED by FINRA – Anaheim, CA

Published on: November 19, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

FINRA has barred former Cambria Capital, LLC broker Steven Musielski from the securities industry. Musielski consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he refused to provide documents and information requested by FINRA in connection with an investigation into his sales practice activity. The FINRA findings stated that the request sought to investigate Musielski’s potential exercise of discretion without written authorization, potential excessive trading, and potentially unsuitable investments in leveraged and inverse-leveraged securities.

If you have lost money with Steven Musielski, or Cambria Capital, LLC, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.

Iorio Altamirano LLP represents investors nationwide that have disputes with their financial advisors or brokerage firms.

GPB Investors Have Won Monetary Awards in 10 of 11 Arbitration Cases This Past Year

Published on: November 18, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

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.

Investor Update: Energy 11, L.P.’s Substantial Debt and Missed Accrued Distributions Could Take Years to Pay Off

Published on: November 16, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

Energy 11, L.P. is an illiquid, non-traded limited partnership sold as private placement security exclusively by broker-dealer David Lerner Associates, Inc. The limited partnership invests in the oil, gas, and energy sector, which has been extremely volatile the past several years. Energy 11 was not suitable for most conservative or retired investors.

On November 5, 2011, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Energy 11 GP, LLC, the general partner of Energy 11, L.P. (“Energy 11”), sent a letter to investors of Energy 11 notifying them that partial distributions would resume after a nearly two-year hiatus. The amount of the distribution will be 50% of the regular monthly distribution.

In March 2020, Energy 11 suspended monthly distributions to its limited partners as the partnership took on massive debt. Unbeknownst to many investors, the distributions were merely a return of the limited partner’s original capital investment, not a dividend. Energy 11 currently owes 21 months of unpaid distributions to its limited partners, totaling approximately $42 million.

GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP Files 10-Q with SEC; Future Remains Uncertain for GPB Automotive Investors

Published on: November 15, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

Between July 2013 and June 2018, limited partners invested $675 million into GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP, which was sold as a private placement offering by broker-dealers and registered investment advisory firms across the country. Financial advisors, who received large commissions for selling limited partnership units of GPB Automotive, lured investors into this high-risk and illiquid security by emphasizing a high rate of return and monthly distributions. Unfortunately for investors, distributions have not been paid since December 2018.

With the recent announcement that GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP agreed to sell Prime Automotive for $880 million, limited partners have been wondering what that means for them.

Below, we delve into GPB Automotive LP’s latest quarterly filing with the SEC to look for answers.

Iorio Altamirano LLP Files GPB Automotive Claim Against Aegis Capital Corp

Published on: November 11, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

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.

Aegis Capital Corp. Ordered to Pay Nearly $2.7 Million for Supervisory Failures Related to Rampant Excessive and Unsuitable Trading

Published on: November 9, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

On November 8, 2021, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and Aegis Capital Corp. (“Aegis Capital”) entered into Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2016051704305 (the “AWC”). After conducting an investigation, FINRA alleged in the AWC that from July 2014 through December 2018, Aegis Capital failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures (WSPs), reasonably designed to achieve compliance with the suitability requirements of FINRA Rule 2111 as it pertains to excessive trading. As a result, Aegis Capital failed to identify trading in hundreds of customer accounts that were potentially excessive and unsuitable, including trading conducted by eight Aegis Capital registered representatives in the firm’s Melville and Wall Street branches whose trading in the accounts of 31 firm customers resulted in an average annualized cost-to-equity ratio (or break-even point) of 71.6%, an average annualized turnover rate of 34.9, combined customer costs (including commissions, markups or markdowns, margin interest, and fees) of more than $2.9 million, and cumulative losses of $4.6 million.

Additionally, the FINRA AWC alleged from July 2014 to June 2019, Aegis Capital failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a supervisory system, including WSPs, reasonably designed to achieve compliance with the suitability requirements of FINRA Rule 2111 when selling leveraged, inverse, and inverse-leveraged Exchange-Traded Funds (Non-Traditional ETFs) to retail customers. As a result, Aegis Capital failed to identify customers who purchased and held Non-Traditional ETFs for extended periods of time or whose purchase was inconsistent with their recorded investment objective, risk tolerance, or finances.

Customers of Aegis Capital, including customers that have been notified that they may be receiving restitution, should consult with a securities arbitration law firm. If you or a loved one were a customer of Aegis Capital, contact New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential consultation and review of your legal rights.