New York Securities Lawyers Blog

Malecki Law announces the filing of a civil arbitration complaint in excess of $4 million, plus punitive damages, against MetLife Securities, Inc. The case is being filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") today for alleged improper supervision and selling away, relating to an alleged Ponzi scheme that devastated a Bronx community. The complaint alleges that the firm failed to properly supervise and maintain the compliance of one of their registered representatives, Mr. Robert H. Van Zandt, in violation of federal and state securities laws, as well as financial industry rules and regulations. Robert H. Van Zandt is apparently already under investigation by the New York State Attorney General's Office. "I believe there are a lot of victims out there who don't know what is going on, nor their rights under the rules and regulations of the securities industry," securities fraud attorney Jenice Malecki indicates.

In November of this year FINRA and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission jointly released Regulatory Notice 11-54 stressing the importance of supervision over registered representatives. Shortly before the release of Regulatory Notice 11-54, FINRA filed a regulatory action against Merrill Lynch and fined the firm $1 million for failing to properly supervise a registered representative and catch a Ponzi scheme that he was running out of a San Antonio, Texas branch office that victimized clients and non-clients of Merrill Lynch, all to which Merrill Lynch was responsible for its failure to supervise.

The complaint filed by Malecki Law relates to the alleged conduct of Robert H. Van Zandt of the Van Zandt Agency, who is believed to have sold unregistered securities in the form of promissory notes that were represented to prospective investors as part of a secured real estate investment, which appears improperly set up and not secured at all. It is alleged that these notes were part of yet another "Ponzi" scheme in what Ms. Malecki opines to be "an era filled with ponzi schemes for which the industry should closely monitor to avoid harm to unwitting victims," this alleged ponzi scheme one run through a series of shell companies including Burke and Grace Avenue Corp.

According to his FINRA Broker Check Report, Robert H. Van Zandt was a registered representative with MetLife Securities, Inc. from December of 2004 through February of 2007. During that time, it is alleged that despite its duties to properly supervise Mr. Van Zandt, MetLife Securities allowed him and others to sell unregistered securities in connection with the operation of this Ponzi scheme for the entirety of his tenure with the firm.

It is alleged that Mr. Van Zandt used his status in the close-knit Bronx community to earn the trust of his clients, and ultimately, solicited hundreds of investors, defrauding them of over $20 million. According to the complaint filed with FINRA, Investors were solicited to invest in the scheme while they were having their tax returns done at the Van Zandt Agency and were lured into verbally and through prominently placed brochures promising essentially "guaranteed" returns of 9-12% annually, without appropriate registration, disclaimers, or any earmarks of supervision over this conduct. It is believed that these investors, many of whom invested their IRA's, proceeds from inheritances, and life savings, have lost substantially all, if not all, of their investment.

Investors or employees with knowledge of the events at the Van Zandt Agency who seek further information or want to explore their rights should contact Malecki Law by e-mail or phone. Malecki Law has a uniquely diverse background with significant experience representing clients in securities and investment fraud issues and is "AV Rated" by Martindale-Hubbell. Malecki Law hosts a website providing information and resources dedicated to the securities industry: www.AboutSecuritiesLaw.com. Please contact Jenice L. Malecki, Esq., MALECKI LAW, 11 Broadway, Suite 715, New York, NY 10004, Telephone: (212) 943-1233, Facsimile: (212) 943-1238, E-Mail: Jenice@MaleckiLaw.com.

Malecki Law is currently investigating Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) brokerage firms who have advised customers to purchase leveraged and inverse ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), including those issued by Direxion, ProFunds (ProShares) and Rydex. Some of these ETFs trade under the symbols FAS, FAZ, UPRO, SDOW, SPXU, UDOW, RSU and RSU, among many others.

From 2007 through 2010, the market for inverse and leveraged ETFs such as these has grown from $1 billion to $30 billion, in large part due to these products being solicited in the accounts of normal, unsophisticated investors.

These products are highly complex, using various trading strategies in an attempt to deliver their promised returns, and are oftentimes not suitable for the investment portfolio of a conservative or retired investor.

Unfortunately, many brokers and brokerage firms fail to properly inform their clients about the complex nature of these investments and the associated risks involved. Hence, these investors do not understand the complex structure of the investment or the risks involved. Since these products are highly leveraged and structured to perform only in the very short term, they generally only suitable for speculative day trading, not long-term investment.

Compounding the problem with these investments is the use of margin in an investors account by his or her stock broker. By borrowing on margin to purchase leveraged ETFs, an investor can be exposed to extreme risk and market volatility. Such volatility could result in the investor receiving a margin call, which if not met, can devastate the account.

It is the right of any and all investors who believe they may have suffered losses to contact our offices to explore their legal rights and options. If you or a family member suffered losses in leveraged or inverse ETFs, such as those listed above, contact the securities fraud lawyers at Malecki Law for a free consultation and case evaluation.

Malecki Law takes a proactive and informed approach to the financial news of today: actively engaging in fact-finding analysis on prospective cases from around the world. Our thorough knowledge of securities law's history and fine points makes us ideal consultants for investors who have suffered losses due to misadvice from their broker or other financial counsel. Information on a selection of funds and companies currently under investigation by Malecki Law can be found below. Our pursuit of excellence is constant, but our opportunities to make lasting positive change to the securities industry begin and end with determined clients who seek justice.

Malecki Law is currently investigating the potential for recovery of losses from Citigroup's FALCON and ASTA-MAT hedge funds, as sold by its broker-dealer Smith Barney in the years spanning from 2005 to 2008. It is alleged that Citigroup presented the funds as affordable options, with fair-to-little risk and low volatility.

If the group failed to disclose crucial information about dangerous aspects of the funds and potential for severe losses, a claim may be warranted. Both funds were increasingly and excessively invested in real estate, leading to both funds reporting upward of 80% losses in 2008. Investors' legal claims against Citigroup have included but are not limited to Fraud, Failure to Supervise, Unsuitability, Misrepresentations & Omissions, Breach of Contract, and Breach of Fiduciary Duty.

It is the right of any and all investors who believe they may have suffered losses as a result of recommendations of their financial advisor to contact our offices to explore their legal rights and options. If you or a family member invested in Citigroup's FALCON and/or ASTA-MAT hedge funds, contact the securities fraud lawyers at Malecki Law for a free consultation and case evaluation at (212) 943-1233.

Malecki Law takes a proactive and informed approach to the financial news of today: actively engaging in fact-finding analysis on prospective cases from around the world. Our thorough knowledge of securities law's history and fine points makes us ideal consultants for investors who have suffered losses due to misadvice from their broker or other financial counsel. Information on a selection of funds and companies currently under investigation by Malecki Law can be found below. Our pursuit of excellence is constant, but our opportunities to make lasting positive change to the securities industry begin and end with determined clients who seek justice.

Malecki Law is currently investigating the potential for recovery of losses from 1861 Capital municipal bond arbitrage funds sold by brokerage firm UBS. 1861 Capital Management is an investment firm based in New York, NY. It has been alleged that 1861 Capital Discovery Domestic Fund, LP was marketed and sold by UBS and other broker dealers as a sound and secure addition to a portfolio of municipal bonds. It may be more accurate to say, however, that 1861 would be better described as a leveraged municipal arbitrage fund.

In marketing such funds to investors, it has been alleged that UBS and their peers sought investors who were not only wealthy, but also cautious: those avoiding risk, making slow-but-steady investments, who would be drawn to the tax free municipal bonds to which the leveraged fund was coupled.

If these allegations are correct, the approach employed by 1861 was not only questionably deceptive, but dangerous in risking for its investors severe or total losses from a truly volatile fund. Such endeavors would be inconsistent with guarantees made about the safety and security of these investments.

It is the right of any and all investors who believe they may have suffered losses as a result of recommendations of their financial advisor to contact our offices to explore their legal rights and options. If you or a family member invested in 1861 Capital Management, contact the securities fraud lawyers at Malecki Law for a free consultation and case evaluation at (212) 943-1233.

Malecki Law takes a proactive and informed approach to the financial news of today: actively engaging in fact-finding analysis on prospective cases from around the world. Our thorough knowledge of securities law's history and fine points makes us ideal consultants for investors who have suffered losses due to misadvice from their broker or other financial counsel. Information on a selection of funds and companies currently under investigation by Malecki Law can be found below. Our pursuit of excellence is constant, but our opportunities to make lasting positive change to the securities industry begin and end with determined clients who seek justice.

Malecki Law is currently investigating the potential for recovery of losses from reverse convertible securities. Reverse convertible notes can be defined as complex, short-term bonds. At the end of one year, the owner receives either a 100% return on their investment or a predetermined amount of stock should the value of the note drop by a set figure (typically 70-80%). Their high-interest rates (recently set at as much as 13%) make them an alluring prospect for quick and significant gains.

Such notes are widely discussed in the finance industry today, both because of their popularity ($6.76 billion worth of reverse convertibles were sold in the U.S. in 2010) and because of growing concerns that the industry is selling such notes to unsuitable investors, and failing to supervise investments properly once funds have been transferred. RCNs have thus received increased regulatory attention from FINRA and other regulators.

In July of 2011 the SEC filed a report targeting several areas in which an array of brokerage firms were failing to provide investors with necessary information, to the unwarranted risk and detriment of investment funds. These areas included but are not limited to: a failure to ensure that the sales were suitable, a lack of training procedures, and a failure to properly supervise secondary market activity.

In conjunction with the SEC's findings, FINRA Notice to Members 11-25 concisely states that due diligence is required from brokers when it comes to their own understanding of the securities they are selling, particularly material as potentially precarious an RCN. When a broker has failed to become properly educated in the securities being sold, or is willfully misrepresenting such products, legal recourse can be taken.

It is the right of any and all investors who believe they may have suffered losses as a result of recommendations of their financial advisor to contact our offices to explore their legal rights and options. If you or a family member invested in reverse convertible notes, contact the securities fraud lawyers at Malecki Law for a free consultation and case evaluation at (212) 943-1233.

Malecki Law takes a proactive and informed approach to the financial news of today: actively engaging in fact-finding analysis on prospective cases from around the world. Our thorough knowledge of securities law's history and fine points makes us ideal consultants for investors who have suffered losses due to misadvice from their broker or other financial counsel. Information on a selection of funds and companies currently under investigation by Malecki Law can be found below. Our pursuit of excellence is constant, but our opportunities to make lasting positive change to the securities industry begin and end with determined clients who seek justice.

Malecki Law is currently investigating the potential for recovery of losses in Desert Capital REIT, a Henderson, Nevada based real estate investor, and its co-owned brokerage firm CM Securities.

Desert Capital is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that is believed to have been financing short-term high interest mortgage loans. These types of loans and any dividends are believed to have been paid to investors through real estate transactions, and are today generally thought to be risky investments, with potential for high gains due to their interest rates, but with equal if not unwarranted potential for resolute failure, and a possible lack of accountability toward investors.

Whereas such loans would have been more apt to be endorsed by brokers, the housing crisis has left Desert Capital with ten of millions of dollars in annual losses. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the company lost $26 million in the third quarter of 2010 alone: the SEC has since issued a subpoena. CM Securities functioned as a brokerage firm owned by the same management as Desert Capital, and heavily marketed the REIT as a sound investment.

Given its current state, Desert Capital has issued statements declaring a likely inability to continue, with the concern of liquidation on their horizon. No stock in the company is traded on any exchange, leaving those who've invested in the company with what may be illiquid, worthless shares of an insolvent organization.

It is the right of any and all investors who believe they may have suffered losses as a result of recommendations of their financial advisor to contact our offices to explore their legal rights and options. If you or a family member invested in Desert Capital's REIT or made transactions through CM Securities, contact the securities fraud lawyers at Malecki Law for a free consultation and case evaluation at (212) 943-1233.

Malecki Law takes a proactive and informed approach to the financial news of today: actively engaging in fact-finding analysis on prospective cases from around the world. Our thorough knowledge of securities law's history and fine points makes us ideal consultants for investors who have suffered losses due to misadvice from their broker or other financial counsel. Information on a selection of funds and companies currently under investigation by Malecki Law can be found below. Our pursuit of excellence is constant, but our opportunities to make lasting positive change to the securities industry begin and end with determined clients who seek justice.

Malecki Law is currently investigating preferred stock of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as sold by an array of investment firms throughout 2007 and 2008, including but not limited to UBS, CitiGroup, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lynch.

Preferred stock can be defined as a hybrid of equity and debt instruments: it is prioritized over common stock when paying dividends and/or after liquidation. Preferred stock has been considered an appealing financing tool: selling such stock allows companies to defer dividends without affecting their credit or defaulting.

Claims filed by investors allege that the aforementioned firms and others like them failed to disclose crucial information about the quickly deteriorating status and financial security of Fannie and Freddie. The poor condition of the companies is today said to have sprang from excessive lending, offering loans that could not be properly repaid, and investment in "toxic" assets. The term "Toxic asset" describes mortgage-backed securities, credit default swaps, collateral debt obligations, and other risky means of borrowing and lending money for real estate that perpetuated a housing crisis once the companies lending such funds became insolvent.

Malecki Law takes a proactive and informed approach to the financial news of today: actively engaging in fact-finding analysis on prospective cases from around the world. Our thorough knowledge of securities law's history and fine points makes us ideal consultants for investors who have suffered losses due to misadvice from their broker or other financial counsel. Information on a selection of funds and companies currently under investigation by Malecki Law can be found below. Our pursuit of excellence is constant, but our opportunities to make lasting positive change to the securities industry begin and end with determined clients who seek justice.

Malecki Law is currently investigating allegations against Carr Miller Capital LLC, a New Jersey investment firm, accused in a lawsuit by the state Attorney General's office of creating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of over $40 million. Company CEO Carr Miller has since been banned from practicing within the securities industry by state legislators.

Companies who shared investments with Carr Miller have been named as defendants. Among those cited is energy company Indigo-Energy ("Indigo"), a group in which Carr Miller had previously invested. Indigo has been named in the lawsuit against Carr Miller because Carr Miller invested in the energy company, who was then deemed by the state to be unjustly enhanced by Carr Miller's money, obtained through illegal actions taken by the firm.

The Attorney General further claims that Carr Miller did not provide investors with material information about the investments and falsely represented to clients where their money would be invested. According to an investigation into Carr Miller's actions, conducted by the New Jersey State Bureau of Securities, investors in New Jersey, Texas, Arkansas and North Carolina were sold promissory notes. Click here for our detailed definition of promissory notes and their suitable use.

It is the right of any and all investors who believe they may have suffered losses as a result of recommendations of their financial advisor to contact our offices to explore their legal rights and options. If you or a family member invested in Carr Miller Capital, contact the securities fraud lawyers at Malecki Law for a free consultation and case evaluation at (212) 943-1233.

Malecki Law takes a proactive and informed approach to the financial news of today: actively engaging in fact-finding analysis on prospective cases from around the world. Our thorough knowledge of securities law's history and fine points makes us ideal consultants for investors who have suffered losses due to misadvice from their broker or other financial counsel. Information on a selection of funds and companies currently under investigation by Malecki Law can be found below. Our pursuit of excellence is constant, but our opportunities to make lasting positive change to the securities industry begin and end with determined clients who seek justice.

Malecki Law is investigating possible unsuitability claims against David Lerner Associates (DLA), a New York based real estate firm based in Syosset, NY. In May of 2011, FINRA regulators accused the brokerage entity of selling shares in illiquid real estate investment trusts, or REITs, to unsophisticated and elderly customers.

In addition, FINRA's suit against the firm argues that DLA's trusts were unsuitable for the consumer to whom the group was targeting. It is alleged that Lerner provided misleading information that failed to show that distributions far exceeded income and were financed by debt.

FINRA's notice further states that DLA lacked due diligence in failing to "sufficiently investigate valuation and distribution irregularities" made by the accountants of their real estate funds, who are said to have been dispensing returns greater than the value of the funds in full. More about FINRA's complaint against DLA and the options for recourse for those with actionable claims against this and other REITs can be found in Malecki Law attorney Adam Nicolazzo's posting on our New York Securities Lawyer's Blog from June, 2011.

It is the right of any and all investors who believe they may have suffered losses as a result of recommendations of their financial advisor to contact our offices to explore their legal rights and options. If you or a family member invested in Apple REITS from David Lerner Associates, contact the securities fraud lawyers at Malecki Law for a free consultation and case evaluation at (212) 943-1233.

Malecki Law takes a proactive and informed approach to the financial news of today: actively engaging in fact-finding analysis on prospective cases from around the world. Our thorough knowledge of securities law's history and fine points makes us ideal consultants for investors who have suffered losses due to misadvice from their broker or other financial counsel. Information on a selection of funds and companies currently under investigation by Malecki Law can be found below. Our pursuit of excellence is constant, but our opportunities to make lasting positive change to the securities industry begin and end with determined clients who seek justice.

Malecki Law is currently investigating Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) brokerage firms who have advised customers to purchase a private placement called LaeRoc Income Funds, LP. LaeRoc is a real estate investment firm started in 1988, creating and owning property throughout the United States. Among those who sold the funds to investors are LPL Financial and Commonwealth Financial Network. We believe these investments were often marketed as modest, fixed income products.

The LaeRoc 2005-2006 Income Fund, LP is presumed to be at least $49 million in debt and presently aims to raise $12 million to $15 million, with lenders threatening foreclosure. The Fund currently owes $105 million dollars in total mortgage debt. Such an urgent pursuit of fast cash is a foreboding sign for investors. Malecki Law is researching a potential failure on the part of brokerage firms to properly disclose risk.

The Securities Act of 1933 require brokerage firms issuing private placements such as LaeRoc's funds to conduct reasonable investigations into the liability of such placements. Failure to do so may produce cause for action against the firm who issued the fund to its customer.

It is the right of any and all investors who believe they may have suffered losses as a result of recommendations of their financial advisor to contact our offices to explore their legal rights and options. If you or a family member invested in LaeRoc Income Funds, LP, contact the securities fraud lawyers at Malecki Law for a free consultation and case evaluation at (212) 943-1233.

Malecki Law, a New York securities law firm based in Manhattan, is currently investigating claims against IRA Services Trust Company and Fiserv, Inc. arising out of investments solicited and promissory notes issued through the Van Zandt Agency in relation to real estate investments in the Bronx, New York and elsewhere.

The Attorney General of the State of New York is currently investigating the practices of the Van Zandts and on April 6, 2011, filed an application in the Supreme Court of the State of New York for an order of discovery and preliminary injunction against the Van Zandts and other related agencies.

Based on the initial inquiry of the securities fraud lawyers of Malecki Law and the Attorney General's investigation, there are questions about whether or not the Van Zandt Agency broke the law by engaging in the fraudulent issuance, promotion offer and sale of securities to the public in the State of New York. It is believed that hundreds and possibly thousands of investors may have lost money invested with the Van Zandts.

There may be claims against IRA Services and Fiserv for failing in their due diligence, supervision and providing a facility for an alleged fraud by an unregistered investment advisor that was also not a broker dealer. The lawyers at Malecki Law are focusing on potential claims against IRA Services and Fiserv, who may have breached various duties to individual investors, as they may be the only hope of a recovery for those who lost money.

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