[senior investor] v. [prominent brokerage firm]

In this case, our client invested his retirement savings in a Ponzi scheme that was recommended to him by his stock broker as a safe and profitable investment.  The Ponzi scheme was the "Universal Lease" scam perpetrated by Michael E. Kelly under the names of Resort Holdings International, Yucatan Resorts, and Avalon Resorts.  We filed claims on behalf of our client against the broker-dealer who employed the registered agent, claiming that the broker-dealer breached its duty to supervise the agent and prevent him from selling unregistered securities to his customer.  We successfully settled the case on behalf of our client.

Brewer, et al. v. Aura Financial Services, et al.

In this NASD arbitration, we successfully represented a group of North and South Carolina residents, many of them senior citizens, who invested in the Waterstone's "internet kiosk " investment scheme.  We claimed that Respondent, Aura Financial, of Birmingham, Alabama, failed to properly supervise the activities of its registered representatives who were marketing and selling the fraudulent and illegal Waterstone securities.  We successfully settled the case on behalf of our clients.

In this case, we filed claims on behalf of investors, many of them elderly, who were victimized in the ETS Ponzi scheme.  In that case, investors relied on the advice of a registered representative and invested their savings, IRA and 401k funds in a payphone scam.  We alleged that Respondent, a broker-dealer, failed in its duty to properly supervise its registered representative who promoted the payphone scam to the investing public.  We successfully the case on behalf of our clients.

Rachel, et al. v. Multi-Financial Securities Corp., et al.

Following a week-long hearing in Cleveland, a securities arbitration panel awarded our clients 100% of their "out-of-pocket" losses, then more than doubled it.  The arbitrators ordered the couple's financial adviser and the broker-dealer firm to pay the couple an additional $200,000 in exemplary damages (also as punitive damages).  Following advice from their financial advisers, the couple had needlessly placed their retirement savings in risky investments within a variable annuity.  We proved to the arbitrators that the couple's purchase of a variable annuity produced large commissions for the financial advisers but no benefit at all for their clients.

Miller, et al. v. Walnut Street Securities, Inc.

This was a case arising out of the same pyramid scheme - ETS Payphones.  We alleged that Respondent, a broker-dealer, failed in its duty to properly supervise its registered representative who promoted the payphone scam to the investing public.  We successfully the case on behalf of our clients.

Gwirtz, et al. v. National Planning Corp, et al.

In this case, several Ohio residents invested in a fraudulent real estate scheme.  The perpetrator of the scheme promised returns as high as 16 percent annually, but in reality the payments were made to earlier investors by using later investors' money.  A registered representative recommended this real estate scam to his customers a solid investment.  We filed claims on behalf of investors, including retirees, who bought into this pyramid scheme, against the broker-dealer who was supposed to supervise its registered agent and prevent him from selling unregistered investments to his customers.  We successfully the case on behalf of our clients.

Harrison v. Creviston

In this case we assisted our client in recovering damages from his investment representative who mishandled the client's funds. The investment representative fraudulently represented to the client that the client's investments are performing significantly above average, when in fact the client's money had not been invested, but deposited in the investment representative's personal bank account.  We successfully recovered damages on behalf of our client.