Investor Lawyers Blog

Robert Shapiro, the former chief executive officer of Woodbridge Group of Companies, has reportedly agreed to pay $120 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle allegations he defrauded investors in an alleged $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. Shapiro and his subordinates reportedly promised investors returns of as high as 10% from purported “hard money”…

Investors in Woodbridge, either through a First Position Commercial Mortgage (commonly referred to as a “FPCM” or “note”) or in any Woodbridge “units” upon the recommendation of former broker David Ferdwerda (CRD# 832431) may be able to recover your losses through securities arbitration. As recently disclosed by FINRA, as of October 30, 2018, FINRA barred…

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin J. Carey (D. Delaware Case No. 17-12560-KJC) has overruled the final objection to the Chapter 11 Liquidation Plan (“Plan”) for the Woodbridge Group of Companies, LLC and its affiliated debtors in possession (collectively, “Woodbridge” or the “Debtors”). As we have discussed in recent blog posts, the Woodbridge bankruptcy cases arise out…

As previously reported, American Finance Trust, Inc. (“AFIN” or the “Company”), formerly known as American Realty Capital Trust V, Inc., listed its shares on Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”), under the symbol AFIN effective July 19, 2018. The former non-traded REIT’s shares are therefore publicly traded, but not all shares are yet saleable. In connection…

Investors in American Finance Trust (“AFIN”) may have arbitration claims to be pursued before FINRA, if their AFIN investment was recommended by a financial advisor who lacked a reasonable basis for the recommendation, or if the nature of the investment was misrepresented by the broker. AFIN was initially structured as a publicly registered, non-traded real…

As recently reported, the Massachusetts Securities Division (the “Division”) has commenced an investigation into the sales practices of some 63 independent broker-dealers who offered private placements sponsored by alternative asset manager GPB Capital Holdings, LLC (“GPB”). Specifically, the Division has intimated that it began an investigation into GPB following a recent tip concerning the firm’s…

As we have discussed in several recent blog posts, on July 27, 2018, 1 Global Capital (a/k/a 1st Global Capital) (hereinafter, “1GC”) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. Formed about 5 years ago, 1GC was purportedly in the business of making short term merchant cash…

The expensive insurance that consumers are prompted to opt in or out of when they book online travel on popular websites is big business- and, according to lawsuits and a U.S Senator, airlines and others may be illegally profiting from travel insurance by receiving a portion of the premiums paid by consumers for the insurance.…

Hospitality Investors Trust Inc. (“HIT”, formerly known as ARC Hospitality Trust, Inc.) has announced that it is buying back shares for $9.00 a share, which is a discount of approximately 35% to what it the company claims is the shares’ net asset value (NAV) of $13.87 a share. It is also a far cry from…

On September 18, 2018, the SEC initiated a civil action (the “Complaint”) against Defendants World Tree Financial, LLC (“World Tree”), Wesley Kyle Perkins (“Perkins”), and Priscilla Gilmore Perkins (“Gilmore”). The Complaint alleges that Perkins and Gilmore, husband and wife owners of World Tree, engaged in a purported “cherry-picking” scheme. Specifically, the SEC has alleged that…