In one case, many canceled bond certificates disappeared in 1992 after they were taken from a transfer agent’s warehouse and delivered to a certificate destruction vendor. These certificates had a face value of around $111 billion. Later, these certificates began to resurface all around the world. Many individuals, brokers and banks were defrauded when the certificates were used as loan collateral or sold for cash.

Securities fraud attorneys say the SEC’s 2011 Lost and Stolen Securities Programs’s report — which received reports and inquiries on missing, lost, stolen or counterfeit certificates — is staggering. During that year, 10,990,507 certificates inquires were made, 512,807 certificates reports were made and “hits” that resulted from certificates inquiries numbered 348,791. The certificates related to these hits, which warned that the certificates in question had been reported as stolen, lost, counterfeit, or missing and ineligible for transfer, were valued at around $8,789,674,628.

Investment fraud lawyers recommend that any investor holding certificates, or considering purchasing certificates, take measures to protect themselves from this type of fraud. Some of the SEC’s recommended actions include:

• If your certificate is lost, stolen or accidentally destroyed, contact the transfer agent immediately for a “stop transfer.” This will prevent the transfer of ownership of the security from your name to someone else’s.
• If your certificate is expected in the mail but doesn’t arrive, contact whomever arranged the transaction immediately. Usually, this is your brokerage firm.
• A copy should be made of both sides of the certificate, which must be kept separate from the actual certificate. This will help a transfer agent establish when and to whom the certificate was transferred, should a problem arise.

If you believe you have been the victim of lost and stolen securities fraud, find out more about your legal rights and options by contacting a securities fraud attorney at The Law Office of Christopher J. Gray at (866) 966-9598 for a no-cost, confidential consultation.

TICs, or tenancies-in-common, are investments in which multiple investors are sold a property. These investors are then co-owners of the property, and receive fractional interests in said property. The investors then enjoy their own share of the net income and expenses, proceeds of sale and appreciation of the property. TIC investors do not participate in the every day management of the property. However, they do have certain rights regarding the property’s management.

TICs offer a relatively high dividend or interest and as a result, these investments are often attractive to certain retired investors. Generally though, TICs are unsuitable for income-seeking and retired investors for two main reasons:

1. Because TICs are wholly dependent on the overall state of the real estate market and the underlying real estate property’s performance, the investments are unsuitably risky.
2. Generally, TIC investments are illiquid and, as a result, investors’ access to funds is severely limited.

Some brokers recommend TICs to investors, despite the fact that they are unsuitable, because they typically offer a high commission. In some cases, TICs will pay a commission as high as 10 percent to the broker who makes the sale. However, a violation of the suitability standard means that investors can seek to recover their losses through FINRA arbitration.

Argus Realty, Cabot Investment Properties, DBSI, Covington Realty Partners, FOR 1031, Covington Realty Partners and Triple Net Properties are just a few of the sponsors offering TICs that may have been improperly sold to investors.

If you have invested in a TIC at the recommendation of your broker-dealer or investment adviser despite the fact that TICs are unsuitable for your portfolio, and suffered significant losses as a result, you may have a valid securities arbitration claim. For more information, contact an investment fraud lawyer at The Law Office of Christopher J. Gray at (866) 966-9598 for a no-cost, confidential consultation.