A National Securities Arbitration & Investment Fraud Law Firm
Boca Raton, Florida – July 17, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Silver Law Group ( www.silverlaw.com) is investigating claims against Pennsylvania-based former stockbroker Malcolm Segal for his alleged role in a $15,500,000 Ponzi scheme that allegedly defrauded approximately 50 investors, including Segal’s brokerage clients, and funded Segal’s luxurious lifestyle. Segal was a financial advisor with Aegis Capital Corp from 2011 through July 2014.
According to the SEC and U.S. Attorney’s Office, Segal sold so-called certificates of deposit (CDs) to his brokerage customers by falsely claiming he could get them higher interest rates than were otherwise available to the general public. In some instances, Segal purportedly purchased CDs for his customers but secretly redeemed those investments early and took the proceeds for himself. In other instances, Segal did not purchase the CDs at all, despite telling his clients that he had properly executed their investments. While Segal spent some of the approximately $15.5 million he raised on his own personal desires (including extravagant vacations and the purchase of a Florida condominium), he also used a portion of the funds in typical Ponzi scheme fashion by redistributing the money from new investors to older investors under the guise that the old investors were receiving interest payments and repayments on their principal. When his fraud started to crumble, Segal allegedly stole funds directly from his customers’ brokerage accounts to keep funding the Ponzi payments. The SEC alleges that he forged letters of authorization to allow him to transfer funds from customer accounts to accounts he controlled, including forging the signature of a customer’s deceased wife. Segal’s scheme collapsed in July 2014.
In addition to the civil charges against him, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is criminally prosecuting Segal for his role in the investment scheme.
If you have been the victim of investment fraud or have been misled by a financial professional trusted with an investment of yours, you might have the grounds upon which to assert a claim to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration or the courts. Silver Law Group is a nationally-recognized securities law firm headquartered in South Florida, with satellite offices in New York and Washington, D.C., representing investors worldwide with their claims for losses due to financial misconduct and consumer fraud. Our attorneys have Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ of “AV” Preeminent for achieving the highest ethical and legal standards. The firm has successfully recovered multi-million dollar awards for its clients through securities arbitration and the courts. To contact Scott L. Silver to discuss your legal matter, call toll-free (800) 975-4345 or e-mail him at SSilver@silverlaw.com.