Articles Tagged with limited partnerships

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.

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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, 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.

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.

According to SEC filings, GPB Automotive Portfolio LP entered into an agreement with Group 1 Automotive, Inc. on September 12, 2021, to sell Prime Automotive for $880 million, consisting of 30 car dealerships and three collision centers located in the Northeast of the United States.  According to a press release issued by Group 1 Automotive, Inc., the Prime Automotive dealerships generated $1.8 billion in annual revenues in 2020.

The future of GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP remains uncertain. Investors of GPB Automotive Portfolio LP are encouraged to act now and contact a securities arbitration law firm for a free consultation and review of their legal rights.

Iorio Altamirano LP is a securities arbitration law firm that represents GPB Automotive investors.  

August 24, 2021 – This morning, investors of GPB Automotive Portfolio LP woke up to more worrisome news, as the Wall Street Journal reported that the GPB Capital Holdings LLC, is looking to sell its largest dealership group, Prime Automotive, raising speculation that the GPB Automotive is running out of cash.

The latest news follows GPB Automotive’s regulatory filings in May 2021 that disclosed that there was substantial doubt that the business would survive, and July 2021 that disclosed that the Partnership was able to obtain a financing agreement with M&T Bank, but that the Partnership only had sufficient liquidity to meet its financial obligations through July 21, 2022.

In its latest regulatory filing, on August 16, 2021, GPB Automotive disclosed that it might sell dealerships to provide operational liquidity.  According to the Wall Street Journal, such sales may be priced below fair value and go on the book as losses.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended Triad Advisors LLC broker Mark Just from the securities industry for three months for willfully failing to timely amend his Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer (Form U4) to disclose two state tax liens, which totaled $37,333.80. Mr. Just was also fined $5,000.

Mr. Just is also the subject of numerous customer complaints concerning allegedly unsuitable investment recommendations that he has made to customers involving alternative investments.  According to his public disclosure report, those alternative investments include real estate securities (possibly REITs), business development companies (BDCs), direct participation programs (DPPs), Limited Partnerships (LPs).

If you have lost money with Mark William Just or Triad Advisors LLC, contact FINRA arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.

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