Fraud

The Frankowski Firm is investigating potential claims against former Morgan Stanley Smith Barney broker Timothy Thomas Gibbons of New Orleans, based on allegations that in 2014 he made unsuitable recommendations to elderly investors, advising them to place high percentages of their accounts (in one instance 79% of a customer’s portfolio) in a single high-risk energy stock. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) submitted a letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent making findings that Mr. Gibbons’ recommendations were unsuitable for his elderly customers based on their age, risk tolerance, investment objectives, and financial circumstances. Gibbons’ recommendations resulted in a collective loss of over $960,000 in the five accounts forming the basis of FINRA’s allegations. As a result of its findings, FINRA imposed an eighteen-month suspension of Mr. Gibbons’ FINRA association, fined Mr. Gibbons $20,000 and ordered that he pay partial restitution to his clients in the amount of $716,749.78. Mr. Gibbons accepted and consented to FINRA’s findings without admitting or denying [...]

According to a subpoena enforcement action filed in federal court in Miami by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC is investigating whether the Woodbridge Group of Companies, LLC of Sherman Oaks, California, has violated, or is violating, the antifraud, broker-dealer and securities registration provisions of federal securities laws. Woodbridge has received over $1 billion in investor funds from thousands of investors nationwide, possibly as the result of an ongoing fraud. In August, the SEC served subpoenas on 235 limited liability companies in Delaware and Colorado connected to its investigation of Woodbridge and its President, Robert Shapiro. The SEC’s enforcement application alleges that those LLCs failed to produce any documents, even though their responses were due in late August. The SEC release specifically notes that to date, the SEC has not concluded that any individual or entity associated with Woodbridge has violated federal securities laws. The SEC’s investigation, however, is ongoing into “the offer and sale of unregistered securities, the [...]

Though it is very much like adding insult to injury, one of the more pervasive issues that crests shortly after any natural disaster is stock fraud. Perhaps hoping that consumers are distracted by their woes, or blinded by other outpourings of generosity, scam artists take these opportunities to cast a wide net, blanketing the area with schemes devised to take much-needed money out of the pockets of disaster survivors. It can be particularly challenging for survivors or victims to sort through all the offers of assistance to discern between well-intended offers and those intended to defraud, steal, or dupe. Common types of post-disaster scams While the communication of the scam varies—from phone calls, flyers, emails, texts, and face to face interactions—the basic premise is usually the same, and has a few typifying elements: Crowdfunding opportunities or stock offers associated with clean-up or rebuilding Solicitation of investment in new technologies to address current and future disaster relief efforts (including weather related [...]

The Frankowski Firm is investigating potential claims against Sonya D. Camarco, formerly with LPL Financial, LLC in Colorado Springs, Colorado. LPL terminated Ms. Camarco on August 9 of this year following SEC allegations that Ms. Camarco was depositing third-party checks from client accounts into a bank account she controlled and was accessing her client’s funds for personal use, according to her FINRA BrokerCheck report. The report goes on to detail how Ms. Camarco allegedly misappropriated over $2.8 million in investor funds from her clients and customers, using their accounts to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card bills. She also took cash advances on investor accounts, transferred investor funds directly to her personal bank account, and funneled investor funds through her company, Camarco Investments, into her personal bank account. Ms. Camarco has also been indicted by the State of Colorado for the alleged securities fraud and theft. If you or someone you know was a customer of Sonya [...]