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The law firm is investigating legal claims for customers of former Merrill Lynch financial advisor Thomas J. Buck (“Buck”), of Carmel, Indiana. Buck led the Buck Team at Merrill Lynch and was one of the office’s highest producers, with over 3,000 accounts and $1.3 billion in assets under management. On […]
The law firm is investigating sales of Puerto Rico municipal bonds by large U.S. based brokerage firms such as Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley to their brokerage customers. Since 2006, even before Hurricane Maria devastated the Island, Puerto Rico has suffered from a protracted economic recession. The government has incurred […]
The law firm is investigating the collapse of EnerVest Ltd. (“EnerVest”), the $2 billion private-equity fund based in Houston, Texas. EnerVest reportedly raised over $1.3 billion in 2013 and borrowed heavily to invest in oil and gas wells before energy prices plummeted. Now EnerVest’s lenders are negotiating to take control […]
The law firm is investigating Oil Well Service Co. (“Oil Well Service”), located in Santa Fe Springs, California, on behalf of its employees, over its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”). Oil Well Service offered its employees a retirement plan that was invested primarily in company stock. In 2013, Oil Well […]
The law firm is investigating third-party claims for investors in the Platinum Partners Value Arbitrage Fund (“Platinum Fund”). The investigation concerns whether there were breaches of duties by the Platinum Fund’s valuation agent or auditor in connection with the fraud that was later revealed. If so, the law firm is […]
In January 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed for an injunction freezing the assets of Emilio Francisco and his company, PDC Capital Group LLC. The SEC accused them of defrauding investors of $72 million of funds raised from them, and diverting the money to buy a yacht. […]
We have filed several FINRA arbitrations on behalf of Wells Fargo brokerage account customers to recover losses suffered in Puerto Rican bonds. These customers were elderly or retired with conservative and low risk investment objectives who sought to preserve principal while earning income. During 2011 through 2014, these brokerage customers […]
We are investigating Matthew Maczko, the former financial advisor employed by Wells Fargo Advisors LLC from 2008 through 2016, and its branch office in Oakville, Illinois. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) recently suspended Mr. Maczko’s stockbroker’s license and barred him permanently from conducting any securities business. According to FINRA, […]
The U.S. Virgin Islands share many of the same fiscal problems that have made Puerto Rico insolvent: high levels of debt, mounting pension obligations and a declining population. It also has lost several large private employers. The Virgin Islands have a $110 million budget deficit, and recently failed at raising $220 […]
There is a new type of variable annuity called a buffer annuity that is beginning to gain popularity among financial advisors who sell these products. It is highly complex and uses structured products — not mutual funds — in the sub account as the underlying investment. FINRA has started to […]