You Are the Victim of Stock Market Fraud – What Now?
Stock market fraud is a real concern for individual investors. It can lead to substantial losses, and investors typically will not be able to recover their losses simply by relying on market forces. Instead, they will need to take legal action, and, to do so, they will need to seek help from a securities fraud attorney. With this in mind, if you believe that you may be a victim of stock market fraud, here’s what you need to know:
What Constitutes Stock Market Fraud?
Not all scenarios that seem to involve stock market fraud actually do. For example, if you had access to the information you needed but failed to consider it, then you might not have a claim. With that said, stock market fraud can take many different forms, and scam artists are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the ways they target unsuspecting investors. Some examples of stock market fraud schemes include:
- Affinity fraud schemes
- Boiler room schemes
- Email and social media schemes
- Impersonation and imposter schemes
- Market manipulation schemes
- Ponzi schemes
- Pump-and-dump schemes
In many cases, investors will have stock market fraud claims against their brokers and brokerage firms as well. If you received bad investment advice and ended up investing in a fraudulent scam, you may be able to recover your losses from your broker or brokerage firm through FINRA arbitration.
How Do You Prove Stock Market Fraud?
To file a claim for stock market fraud, you need to have proof. This means that you need to hire a securities fraud attorney to conduct an investigation as soon as possible. If it appears that you have a valid claim, your attorney will be able to collect additional evidence through the discovery process.
How Do You Prove Your Losses Resulted from the Fraud?
In addition to proving that you are a victim of stock market fraud, you must also be able to prove how much you lost as a result of the fraud. This requires the representation of an experienced securities fraud attorney who can parse your account statements and pinpoint your fraudulent losses.
What Options Do You Have Available?
The options you have available will depend on the nature of the fraud. In some cases, it may be necessary to pursue a lawsuit in federal court. In others, it may be possible to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration, as discussed above. An experienced securities fraud attorney will be able to determine what type of claim (or types of claims) you can file and take appropriate legal action on your behalf.
Do You Need a Securities Fraud Attorney?
Yes, to recover fraudulent stock market losses, you need a securities fraud attorney. At this point, you should not contact your broker or the individual or entity that offered the stock on your own. Instead, your attorney will handle all necessary communications on your behalf, and he or she will take all of the steps that are necessary to give you the best chance of recovering your fraudulent losses.
Contact Us for a Free Consultation
For more information about recovering fraudulent stock market losses, contact us to schedule a free consultation. Call 212-742-1414 or request an appointment online to speak with a securities fraud attorney in confidence as soon as possible.