Articles Tagged with misrepresentation

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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.

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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.

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On September 7, 2021, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and Santander Investment Securities Inc. (“Santander”) entered into an agreement whereby Santander consented to a censure and $175,000 fine after FINRA alleged that Santander published and distributed research reports to institutional investors that omitted required disclosures or included inaccurate disclosures.

Iorio Altamirano LLP is investigating claims on behalf of institutional customers of Santander Investment Securities Inc.

Institutional clients of Santander Investment Securities Inc. that have suffered investment losses should contact securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential consultation and review of their legal rights.

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**Update: September 9, 2022**  On September 6, 2022, a group of Oppenheimer customers were awarded over $36 million by a FINRA arbitration panel as compensation for their investment losses in Horizon Private Equity, III, LLC.  (“Horizon”).  Horizon is an alleged Ponzi scheme operated by John Woods, a broker who was registered with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.   Iorio Altamirano LLP encourages all retail investors to contact our law firm for a free and confidential consultation and to review their legal rights.

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SEC Charges John Woods of Southport Capital With Operating $110 Million Ponzi Scheme By Selling Units of Horizon Private Equity, III, LLC

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On August 23, 2021, a FINRA Dispute Resolution Services arbitration panel in Baltimore, Maryland, ordered UBS Financial Services, Inc. (“UBS”) to pay $405,000 to customers who invested in UBS’s Yield Enhancement Strategy (“YES”).  The award included $300,000 in compensatory damages, $30,000 in costs, and $75,000 in attorneys’ fees.  The customers alleged that UBS and broker Adam Rogers misrepresented UBS’s Yield Enhancement Strategy, a complex and highly risky options strategy, as a way to obtain marginally higher yield on a portfolio while taking limited risks.  In actuality, the complexity and nature of YES exposed the Claimants to a significant risk of loss.  The Claimants also alleged that UBS and its team of options traders conducted the YES program with virtually no supervision or compliance oversight and with inadequate risk controls.

This order is the third arbitration award against UBS in 2021 concerning YES and the fourth since December 2020.   On March 31, 2021, a FINRA arbitration panel in Columbus, Ohio, ordered UBS to pay customers over $372,000 in compensatory damages and fees.  Earlier in the month, on March 5, 2021, another FINRA arbitration panel in Denver, Colorado, ordered UBS to pay customers over $1 million in compensatory damages.  In December 2020, a FINRA arbitration panel in Boca Raton, Florida, awarded a customer nearly $90,000.

UBS has faced numerous lawsuits from customers in the form of FINRA securities arbitrations related to YES, a complex managed options strategy that UBS marketed as safe and market-neutral. The customers have claimed that the strategy was not suitable for them and that UBS materially misrepresented and omitted the risks of the strategy.

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On August 6, 2021, 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.  Despite the upbeat and optimistic tone of the letter, as well as the representations made by David Lerner Associates, Inc.’s financial advisors to customers, investors have the right to feel concerned about their investments based on Energy 11’s public filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  Most notably for investors:

  • Energy 11 has not made distributions to its limited partners since March 2020.
  • Energy 11 owes its limited partners 18 months of unpaid distributions, totaling more than $36 million.
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The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended financial advisor Jason Seale from the securities industry for 15 business days.  Mr. Seale consented to the suspension after FINRA alleged that, while associated with American Wealth Management, Inc. in Novato, CA, he engaged in discretionary trading without written authorization in four customer accounts between February 2016 and December 2018.  FINRA also fined Mr. Seale $5,000.

Customers of Mr. Seale or American Wealth Management, Inc. who have suffered financial losses, or suspect that Mr. Seale did not have their best interest in mind when recommending investments or making account transactions, can contact New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential consultation and review of their legal rights.

Iorio Altamirano LLP represents investors that have disputes with their financial advisors or brokerage firms, such as American Wealth Management, Inc.

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The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended financial advisor Kevin McCallum from the securities industry for one year.  Mr. McCallum consented to the suspension after FINRA alleged that from May 2017 through June 2019, while associated with LPL Financial LLC in Birmingham, Alabama, he made unsuitable recommendations to 12 customers, resulting in their overconcentration in a high-risk, publicly-traded business development company (BDC), believed to be Medley Capital Corporation.

Additionally, FINRA alleged that during the same period, Mr. McCallum sent emails to customers about the BDC that contained unwarranted and exaggerated claims, opinions, and forecasts, did not provide fair and balanced treatment of the risks and benefits of the investment, and contained promissory statements in violation of FINRA rules.

In addition to the suspension, Mr. McCallum was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine, disgorge $14,231 of commissions, and pay over $1.2 million in restitution to customers. However, it is unclear whether he will be able to satisfy the restation order and repay customers.

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**Update:  April 30, 2022** On November 19, 2021, the FINRA Office of Hearing Officers entered a default decision barring Mr. Giovannelli from associating with any FINRA member firm in any capacity for providing falsified documents and false testimony to FINRA staff and engaging in unauthorized trading in a customer account.  For the unauthorized trading, Mr. Giovannelli was also ordered to pay $1,494 in restitution, plus interest, to the customer.  In light of the bars, the hearing officers did not impose any additional sanctions for Mr. Giovannelli’s discretionary trading without written authorization in four additional customer accounts.

Original Post:

FINRA Files Enforcement Action Against Financial Broker Michael Giovannelli, Formerly of Spartan Capital Securities, for Unauthorized Trades in an Elderly Customer’s Account

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