A National Securities Arbitration & Investment Fraud Law Firm

Articles Posted in Investment Fraud

The SEC today filed a complaint and a request for jury trial involving claims against Knight Nguyen Investments of Katy, Texas, along with:  Christopher Lopez, majority owner and “partner” Forrest Jones, investment advisor and “partner” Jayson Lopez, brother of Christopher and “partner”  Although Christopher Lopez is not a registered broker, he was previously registered the SEC and the state of Texas for several years.  The complaint alleges that Christopher Lopez and Forrest Jones represented themselves and the firm as experts in “low risk alternative investments.” However, the complaint explains, Chris Lopez had no experience with securities prior to founding Knight Nguyen, nor with the so-called “alternative investments.” Additionally, the investments did not meet the firms’ so-called investment “standards.”The SEC today filed a complaint and a request for jury trial involving claims against Knight Nguyen Investments of Katy, Texas, along with:

  • Christopher Lopez, majority owner and “partner”
  • Forrest Jones, investment advisor and “partner”
  • Jayson Lopez, brother of Christopher and “partner”

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Silver Law Group and the Law Firm of David Chase have teamed up to file lawsuits on behalf of clients who were directed into fixed and variable annuities sold by Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda). Northstar is now in court-ordered liquidation proceedings after filing for Chapter 15 bankruptcy last year, unable to honor client surrender requests.  Claims Filed Against Broker-Dealers  Silver Law Group managing partner Scott Silver and David Chase are targeting the U.S.-based brokerage firms and financial management institutions that sold clients on the safety and reliability of Northstar’s fixed and variable rate annuity investment products when the risks were actually much higher due both to a lack of U.S. regulatory safeguards and the company’s history of mismanagement.  A FINRA complaint filed April 12, 2021 against one of those brokerages, Truist Investment Service (Sun Trust), seeks damages for lack of due diligence; breach of fiduciary duty, and negligence and negligent misrepresentation, among other violations. The complaint outlines how Sun Trust and one of its brokers assured two retiree clients that their retirement savings, traditionally invested in money markets and CDs, would be equally safe in Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) annuities while steadily earning a fixed yield.Silver Law Group and the Law Firm of David Chase have teamed up to file lawsuits on behalf of clients who were directed into fixed and variable annuities sold by Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda). Northstar is now in court-ordered liquidation proceedings after filing for Chapter 15 bankruptcy last year, unable to honor client surrender requests. Continue reading ›

Silver Law Group has filed a lawsuit against Seeman Holtz, a Boca Raton company, on behalf of investors alleging they were sold unregistered securities amongst other allegations. Many of the investors are seniors living in south Florida who invested in Para Longevity promissory notes and other offerings. The lawsuit claims that Seeman Holtz has not paid all investors when the notes matured. Seeman Holtz Alleged To Have Offered Unregistered Securities Seeman Holtz, aka National Senior Insurance, is named for its co-founders Marshal Seeman and Eric Holtz, who manage and control the company. Seeman Holtz is an insurance agency, but is not licensed as a broker-dealer with the state of Florida or federal regulators. Federal and state securities laws make it unlawful for a person to effect securities transactions or attempt to induce the purchase or sale of securities unless that person is registered to do so. State regulatory bodies require registration as well as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a regulatory arm of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in charge of licensing broker-dealers.Silver Law Group has filed a lawsuit against Seeman Holtz, a Boca Raton company, on behalf of investors alleging they were sold unregistered securities amongst other allegations. Many of the investors are seniors living in south Florida who invested in Para Longevity promissory notes and other offerings. The lawsuit claims that Seeman Holtz has not paid all investors when the notes matured. Continue reading ›

Silver Law Group has filed two FINRA arbitration claims to recover losses on behalf of Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) investors who were recommended fixed and variable annuities. The arbitrations claims have been filed against the securities brokerage firms who recommended and solicited the Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) investments to their customers.  Northstar is now in court-ordered liquidation proceedings after filing for Chapter 15 bankruptcy last year, and is unable to honor client surrender requests.  A FINRA complaint filed April 12, 2021 against one of the securities brokerage firms, Truist Investment Service (formerly known as SunTrust), seeks damages for lack of due diligence, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and negligent misrepresentation. The complaint alleges that Sun Trust and one of its brokers misrepresented to two retiree clients that their retirement savings, traditionally invested in money markets and CDs, would be equally safe in Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) annuities while steadily earning a fixed yield.Silver Law Group has filed two FINRA arbitration claims to recover losses on behalf of Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) investors who were recommended fixed and variable annuities. The arbitration claims have been filed against the securities brokerage firms who recommended and solicited the Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) investments to their customers. Continue reading ›

On April 5, 2021, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a Complaint against Zachary Horwitz and 1inMM Capital arising from an alleged “offering fraud and Ponzi scheme in violation of federal securities laws.” Among other things, the SEC alleged Horowitz and 1inMM “raised over $690 million from investors by selling promissory notes . . . using fabricated agreements and fake emails with prominent third parties with whom Defendants had no actual business relationship.” The SEC was able to obtain an asset freeze and emergency relief, but investors are now struggling to figure out whether they will receive any meaningful portion of their investments back. Los Angeles-Based Actor Zachary Horwitz Was Alleged Mastermind Of The Ponzi Scheme According to the SEC’s Complaint, Horwitz raised money from investors in the form of promissory notes issued by his company, 1inMM Capital. Regarding the promissory notes, the SEC alleged: Horwitz and 1inMM “represented that 1inMM would use the proceeds from each Promissory Note to finance transactions in which Defendants would: (1) acquire distribution rights in a specific movie; (2) license those rights to a specific media company; and (3) use the profits from these transactions to satisfy the note.” “Horwitz represented to investors that he and 1inMM would profit from these transactions by selling the movie rights to HBO or Netflix at a profit in excess of the profits paid to investors, and that Horwitz and 1inMM would retain this excess.”On April 5, 2021, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a Complaint against Zachary Horwitz and 1inMM Capital arising from an alleged “offering fraud and Ponzi scheme in violation of federal securities laws.” Among other things, the SEC alleged Horowitz and 1inMM “raised over $690 million from investors by selling promissory notes . . . using fabricated agreements and fake emails with prominent third parties with whom Defendants had no actual business relationship.” Continue reading ›

On February 4, 2021, the SEC charged GPB Capital Holdings, its officials, and other affiliated entities with making material misrepresentations, violating whistleblower laws, and defrauding over 17,000 investors in a $1.7 billion Ponzi-like scheme. In the complaint, the SEC alleges that David Gentile, GPB Capital’s owner and CEO, and Jeffry Schneider, owner of a GPB affiliate called Ascendant Capital, falsely told investors that an 8% annualized distribution payment came exclusively from monies generated by the company’s portfolio companies. In reality, the distribution came from new investor contributions. The SEC also charged Jeffrey Lash, another GPB exec, with manipulating financial statements to further the Ponzi scheme and allege that GPB violated whistleblower laws by including language in its contracts that impeded potential whistleblowers and retaliated against a known whistleblower.On February 4, 2021, the SEC charged GPB Capital Holdings, its officials, and other affiliated entities with making material misrepresentations, violating whistleblower laws, and defrauding over 17,000 investors in a $1.7 billion Ponzi-like scheme. Continue reading ›

Investors filed multiple Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claims against stockbrokers at multiple different brokerage firms. The claims involve allegations of unsuitable investments in GPB Capital Holdings, and negligent due diligence resulting in millions of damages. GPB And Advisor Group In February of 2020, Advisor Group acquired Ladenburg Thalmann and its subsidiaries, including Triad Advisors. Advisor Group already owned SagePoint Financial, Royal Alliance, and other brokerage firms. So with the mounting claims against GBP Capital, Advisor Group now has become one of the many investment firms facing allegations of negligence, misconduct, or fraud by its financial advisors and stockbrokers. Triad Advisors is one of over 60 broker-dealers that sold GPB Capital Holdings investments to its customers. On February 4, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC charged GPB Capital Holdings, its officials, and other affiliated entities with making material misrepresentations, violating whistleblower laws, and defrauding over 17,000 investors in a $1.7 billion Ponzi-like scheme. Investors have filed multiple Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claims against stockbrokers at multiple different brokerage firms. The claims involve allegations of unsuitable investments in GPB Capital Holdings, and negligent due diligence resulting in millions of damages. Continue reading ›

No one enjoys losing money on investments. Still, investors can feel even worse if they lost money because they invested in funds that their financial advisor or brokerage firm didn’t properly vet. Investors in GPB Capital Holdings may find that they are facing this exact situation. In parallel actions filed on February 4, 2021, the SEC and the United States Department of Justice charged GPB Capital Holdings, its officials, and other affiliated entities with making material misrepresentations, violating whistleblower laws, and defrauding over 17,000 investors in a $1.7 billion Ponzi-like scheme that lasted more than 4 years. Though the loss of money alone isn’t an indication of bad financial advice, when it comes to investments in GPB, there may be other indications that advisors failed to uphold their fiduciary duties. No one enjoys losing money on investments. Still, investors can feel even worse if they lost money because they invested in funds that their financial advisor or brokerage firm didn’t properly vet. Investors in GPB Capital Holdings may find that they are facing this exact situation. In parallel actions filed on February 4, 2021, the SEC and the United States Department of Justice charged GPB Capital Holdings, its officials, and other affiliated entities with making material misrepresentations, violating whistleblower laws, and defrauding over 17,000 investors in a $1.7 billion Ponzi-like scheme that lasted more than 4 years. Continue reading ›

Investment fraud is any behavior related to investments that involves outright lies, omissions, or violations of the state or federal securities law. Fraud encompasses a wide variety of scams and behaviors, but at the core, they all involve making markets less fair. Investors who are unlucky enough to be caught up in the scheme may not realize until it’s too late and they have lost considerable money.  And, of course, all investors suffer when the market isn’t fair. Financial advisors, issuers, brokers and others make substantial profits from the sale of investments even if an investment is unprofitable or fails to perform.  Our investment fraud lawyers help victims of this kind of fraud hold the wrongdoers responsible—and, whenever possible, recover some or all of the money they lost. The Silver Law Group exclusively represents investors in fraud cases. Our attorneys are career securities lawyers and investor advocates. We understand this complex, specialized area of the law very well—and we use that knowledge to fight for your rights.Investment fraud is any behavior related to investments that involves outright lies, omissions, or violations of the state or federal securities law. Fraud encompasses a wide variety of scams and behaviors, but at the core, they all involve making markets less fair. Investors who are unlucky enough to be caught up in the scheme may not realize until it’s too late and they have lost considerable money. Continue reading ›

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