Law Office of Christopher J. Gray wishes to alert investors to the possibility that recommendations of oil and gas investments by broker-dealers may be unsuitable, depending on the individual characteristics of investors and whether the broker had a reasonable basis for the recommendation. According to a Wall Street Journal article, there have been a total…
Continue reading ›According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), former Independent Financial Group (Independent), broker Robyn H. Lee (Lee) has had at least thirteen (13) customer complaints made against him, mostly involving sales of tenants in common (TICs). Customer complaintsreportedly included unsuitable investment recommendations, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentations and fraud. Lee has been registered with…
Continue reading ›According to Investment News, William Galvin, The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, has charged Boston-based Realty Capital Securities (RCS) with proxy vote fraud. The investigation also included independent broker dealers who sold RCS alternative investments to customers. Proxy voting is a form of voting where members of the decision making body delegate their voting power…
Continue reading ›Recommendations to invest in JP Energy Partners L.P. (JP) by investment advisors and/or broker-dealers may be unsuitable, depending on the individual characteristics of investors and whether the broker had a reasonable basis for the recommendation. JP is a master limited partnership (MLP) that produces and markets coal primarily to utilities and industrial users in the…
Continue reading ›On October 27, 2015, Vanguard Funds (Vanguard) filed suit against VEREIT, Inc. (VEREIT), VEREIT Operating Partnership, AR Capital, ARC Properties Advisors, RCAP Holdings, RCS Capital Corporation, and five company executives in Arizona federal court. VEREIT (formerly known as American Realty Capital Properties) is one of the largest real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the world.…
Continue reading ›Law Office of Christopher J. Gray wishes to alert investors to the possibility that recommendations of Reef Securities, Inc. (Reef) by broker-dealers may be unsuitable, depending on the individual characteristics of investors and whether the broker had a reasonable basis for the recommendation. Reef, a Texas based company, is an independent oil and gas company…
Continue reading ›Great Basin Scientific, Inc. (Great Basin) is a biotechnology company that, according to its website, “commercializes technologies that improve ease-of-use and delivers sample-to-result molecular diagnostic testing.” It trades on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol “GBSN”. Great Basin was underwritten by Dawson James Securities Inc. (Dawson James), a boutique investment bank out of Florida,…
Continue reading ›According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), broker Robert Turpin (Turpin) recently had his registration with his brokerage firm, Source Capital Group, Inc. (Source Capital), terminated for allegedly participating in “selling away” or engaging in unapproved and undisclosed outside business activity. Turpin has been registered with the Securities Industry since 1985. He has previously…
Continue reading ›Law Office of Christopher J. Gray wishes to alert investors to the possibility that recommendations to purchase shares of United Mortgage Trust (United Mortgage) real estate investment trust (REIT) by broker-dealers may be unsuitable, depending on the individual characteristics of investors and whether the broker had a reasonable basis for the recommendation. Non-traded REITs, like…
Continue reading ›On September 29, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against Family Endowment Partners, LP (FEP) and broker Lee D. Weiss (Weiss), alleging self-dealing and failure to disclose material facts to clients. Weiss and FEP allegedly urged clients to invest more than $53 million in illiquid securities to the benefit of Weiss and…
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