Industry Topics

Jenice L. Malecki Takes on Role as Adjunct Professor at New York Law School in its Securities Arbitration Seminar and Field Placement

September 17, 2021 | Malecki Law Team

A Cum Laude graduate alumni of New York Law School, Jenice L. Malecki, Esq., has taken on a mentor and adjunct professorial role as a professor in the Securities Arbitration Seminar and Field Placement. While at New York Law School, Professor Malecki was a member of the International Law Journal and a teaching assistant. She was part of a novel program at the time, when at Manhattanville College in Westchester, she was part of a BA/JD program, earning law school credits in undergraduate school. Now coming full circle and giving back, Professor Malecki has expended her previous role as a frequent guest lecturer and moot court judge for the Securities Arbitration Clinic at New York Law School, as well as other law schools including Fordham, Brooklyn Law School, Pace Law School, Yale Law School and Columbia Law School. Since founding New York Law School in 1999, Professor Malecki has regularly hired students from New York Law School as summer and school-year interns. Now, student receive an opportunity to work and receive academic credit while being mentored, supervised, and encouraged to develop a deep understanding of securities litigation and arbitration strategy.

The Securities and Arbitration Field Seminar teaches students how to interact with prospective clients, conduct client interviews, tackle legal analysis, draft pleadings as well as represent clients in arbitration proceedings before FINRA. The course involves both seminars and fieldwork experience. They engage in vigorous research, investigation and fact finding, as well as sit in on strategy discussions, write memoranda, briefs and pleadings, as well as assist in the review of discovery and case organization. Practical experience is invaluable to students, who can “hit the ground running” when they graduate with experience.

New York Law School was founded in 1891, and has a long history of educating young lawyers that work in the heart of New York City’s legal, government, and financial networks. An independent law school in Tribeca, New York City, New York Law School embraces the motto “We are New York’s Law School” through providing various methods for achieving a vibrant legal education. New York Law School was one of the first schools to offer a Juris Doctorate evening program, as well as built a 235,000 square foot campus in the heart of lower Manhattan near the state and Federal courts to offer opportunities to students in all walks and stages of life. Students are able to interact and work with mentor attorneys, securities arbitration attorneys experienced in the field. Experiential learning is a critical aspect of New York Law School and its teaching method, encouraging students to foster and perfect their legal analysis and skills early on.

Yes, It is Possible to Negotiate a Reduced Punishment with FINRA Enforcement

September 1, 2021 | Malecki Law Team

Being a financial professional – i.e., a registered representative (RR) – regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is not easy. When misconduct is alleged against the RR in a complaint to FINRA, whether brought by a customer or the employing brokerage firm, the system that is set up to resolve such allegations and disputes generally treats the RR, at least initially, as “guilty until proven innocent.” Good luck finding a “neutral” fact-finder willing to listen; instead, you will often find an ambitious FINRA staffer, looking for another notch in his or her belt to help their stats and upward mobility. If and when FINRA decides to bring charges against the RR, it helps to have an attorney who can negotiate a reduced punishment against the RR.

To protect investors and market participants, RRs must abide by the securities laws and FINRA’s rules of conduct. But even when a financial professional follows those rules, every RR knows that they remain at the mercy of both customers and their firms, who, with little effort, whether fairly or unfairly, can very easily file a public complaint to put other customers or firms on notice about the RR.

If a customer files a complaint or arbitration against the RR, the complaint is reported to and logged on the RR’s public record of disclosure within the Central Registration Depository (CRD). Any person with Internet access can then view the pending allegations against the RR by visiting BrokerCheck.FINRA.org, where those allegations can additionally surface with a Google search.

Investor Represented by Malecki Law Receives Maximum Whistleblower Award from SEC

July 27, 2021 | Malecki Law Team

Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted a whistleblower represented by Malecki Law the maximum-allowable award of 30% of whatever the agency recovers in connection with its 2018 action and investment fraud charges against Sandy J. Masselli Jr., Carlyle Gaming & Entertainment Ltd., and other associated entities. The alleged perpetrators from New Jersey were charged with securities fraud and the misappropriation of over $3 million in retail investor funds, alleged to have pocketed the money from selling unregistered securities and falsely telling investors that the investment was destined for an imminent and lucrative IPO.

The SEC provides significant financial incentive for whistleblowers to come forward regarding securities law violations. The SEC introduced its whistleblower program in 2012, and recently surpassed over $1 billion in awards granted to over 200 different whistleblowers; the largest SEC award on record is $83 million. Depending on the timeliness and credibility of the tip, the SEC’s whistleblower program is authorized by Congress, through the passing of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, to grant awards that range between 10% to 30% of any recovery that the agency’s enforcement division makes of $1 million or more. The recovered funds come from the assets recovered and sanctions money paid by persons or entities who are found to be in violation of the federal securities laws.

Although it can be lucrative, most whistleblowers come forward to report securities violations for moral reasons or because they are victims themselves. And the reality is that filing a successful claim, where the whistleblower is granted an award, is extremely rare. In 2020 alone, the SEC received almost 7,000 claims, yet it has only awarded barely 200 awards in nearly a decade since the program began. So while the whistleblower application form is fairly simple, it is often necessary to additionally provide the SEC with supplementary briefs with complete and properly redacted evidentiary exhibits, containing concrete and original information that is presented in a manner that gets the SEC’s attention.

Malecki Law Investigating Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme That Preyed on Guyanese Community and Churchgoers

February 1, 2021 | Malecki Law Team

Malecki Law is currently investigating allegations regarding a Ponzi scheme targeted by several regulators, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which filed a civil enforcement action against Avinash Singh and nine others, including Daniel Cologero and Randy Rosseau, who reside in Florida, and Hemraj Singh, from New Jersey, concerning allegations of an almost $5 million-dollar multi-level Ponzi scheme. We are specifically interested in speaking to any affected investors in Highrise Advantage, LLC or other related investments discussed below. Upon information and belief, Mr. Singh may have been working closely with Equity Trust Company and one or more of its representatives, including Anthony (“Tony”) Sopko, who may have been helping to bring new investors into the scheme.

Mr. Singh is accused of misappropriating funds fraudulently solicited by him and his co-defendants. They allegedly used their network of contacts to prey on those within their communities. One individual charged, Surujpaul Sahdeo, was a priest who may have used his company, SR&B Enterprises, to prey on the Guyanese community and community church-goers, allegedly using their donations to fund the Ponzi scheme through Mr. Singh, who is alleged to have been a main point of contact for recruiting many investors. It is alleged that all of the funds were funneled through commodity pools set up to funnel the fraudulently solicited funds– Highrise Advantage, LLC., Green Knight Investments, LLC, Bull Run Advantage, LLC, and King Royalty, LLC.

Firms like Equity Trust Company have supervisory duties that require them to monitor both the internal and external business activities of their employees like Mr. Sopko. This is significant because Ponzi victims often do not know who to turn to, as Ponzi funds are often spent and heavily depleted by the time a Ponzi scheme falls apart and is discovered. Nevertheless, Malecki Law has decades of experience in successfully recovering millions of dollars from financial firms, such as those Malecki Law sued and successfully recovered from in Ponzi schemes perpetrated by Hector May and Robert Van Zandt.

Can FINRA Arbitration Claims Be Brought Against a Bank and Its Employees?

June 29, 2020 | Malecki Law Team

Many clients are asking whether FINRA arbitration claims can be brought against a bank and/or its employees for losses sustained in their investment accounts. The answer is yes. There are more than 5,000 commercial banks in the United States. Along with traditional banking services, many of these banks also provide in house “financial advisors.” In order to charge their customers more, these bank branch financial advisors encourage bank customers to invest their savings with them. Now more than ever, bank customers are being pressured into using these services, and their life savings are being invested rather than saved. This can lead to losses in customer accounts, where customers would have been better off keeping their funds in a savings account. Malecki Law’s FINRA arbitration attorneys have handled many cases involving claims where customers lost money investing with a commercial bank financial advisor.

Up until Congress repealed the Glass Steagall act in 1999, commercial banks, banks that take in cash deposits and make loans, could not offer investment services. The Glass Steagall Act separated commercial banks and investments banks and prohibited commercial banks from providing any investment service to its customers. Once the act was repealed, in order to make greater profit, banks took advantage and began offering these services. Although banks often incentivize their customers to use these services, such as offering lower fees or free checking, the bank’s investment services, however, are not free.

Investing funds with a bank is no safer than investing funds through an online or traditional brokerage firm. Customers ordinarily use banks for savings, checking, CDs, and, sometimes, securing a mortgage or other type of loan. These types of accounts are a bank’s specialty and are FDIC insured, meaning that these are vehicles designed to prevent the loss of money in customer accounts. Contrarily, investments are not a bank’s specialty and investing with a bank’s financial advisor, similar to making an investment in an online or traditional brokerage account, comes with risk, often incurring higher fees than an online or traditional brokerage account. Moreover, not only do the investment products offered at banks charge higher fees, but the quality and diversity of investment products is limited, which increases risk to the customer’s investments.

Can FINRA Arbitrations be Conducted Remotely by Live Video or Online?

May 20, 2020 | Malecki Law Team

Many clients are asking, “can my arbitration hearing be done online by video?” The answer is yes. FINRA allows for remote hearing services, via Zoom and teleconference, to parties in all cases. In arbitration, all parties can agree as to almost anything and FINRA will allow it – such as who the arbitrators are, methods of picking arbitrators and/or how the hearing will happen. The trick is to get your adversary to agree to alternative hearing methods or to get a sitting arbitration panel to order (force) your adversary to do it. A hearing can happen a number of ways with FINRA’s blessing, so long as it can be recorded. Next week, we expect that FINRA will set out more formal guidelines and we will update this blog in a new post.

Zoom is a user-friendly video platform that provides high-quality and secure options for conducting remote hearings. The platform allows parties, arbitrators, counsel, and witnesses to share documents and their screens with other participants. Zoom is a viable option for parties unable to attend an in-person hearing. Malecki Law’s FINRA arbitration attorneys have experience and systems in place, ready to use this method for hearings in investor arbitrations, as well as industry employment and regulatory matters. For many years, remote witnesses have participated and testified via video and telephonic methods. It is really not a completely new concept.

Whether the hearing is remote or in-person, the prehearing process will not be hindered. In customer dispute cases, where customers bring claims against their broker and/or broker-dealer, all aspects, except for an in-person hearing, are done remotely (such as filing the claims, resolving discovery disputes, and interviewing witnesses). As a matter of fact, most claims against a broker and/or broker-dealer will settle before the hearing is scheduled to begin.

Volatility in U.S. Oil Prices – Can I Sue My Broker for Putting Me Into Risky Oil Investments?

May 1, 2020 | Malecki Law Team

U.S. oil prices have been on a roller coaster ride over the last few weeks, at one point dropping below $0 for the first time in history to -$37.63 a barrel. Oil has since rebounded from its subzero levels, but it remains questionable as to whether it can stay there. It begs the question, what does this mean for investors and the U.S. oil market generally?

When prices cratered below zero, there were those that weighed in that it was nothing to worry about. After all, the subzero price drop really had more to do with the expiration of contracts for oil futures. It was explained that the current demand for oil is so low that producers would rather put their oil in storage and then sell it at some point in the future. Placing additional strain on the market, the U.S. is running out of places to store it, with backlogs of oil tankers from Saudi Arabia out at sea and being turned away from U.S. shipping ports.

The U.S. has traditionally been a net importer of oil, but with the emergence of oil fracking, the U.S. at one point in 2019 surpassed Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil exporter. This trend towards parity gave many observers of the U.S. oil market a feeling of confidence that the U.S. was a rising oil power, with President Trump going so far as describing the U.S. level of participation as “energy dominance.” But as pointed out by professionals, increased participation in the market has little to do with control over the market. For instance, the price of U.S. oil recently began to spiral down when Russia and Saudi Arabia started to increase their production levels. U.S. oil prices teetered even further, and then below zero, when the global and U.S. economic response to the spread of Covid-19 began to take shape – every state being under some level of a stay-at-home order, with fewer cars on the road, fewer people travelling by air, and U.S. oil workers in Texas and elsewhere being laid off in the tens of thousands. The pumps have stopped and oil companies are already declaring bankruptcy, with likely more to follow.

I Received A Rule 8210 Notice From FINRA, What Is Going On?

March 24, 2020 | Malecki Law Team

As we have been saying in this space for many years, getting a Rule 8210 Notice from FINRA can be a jarring event. If you have received an 8210 notice, you should take it seriously, as well as immediate steps to develop your best course of action to comply with the request. An 8210 Notice is a subpoena from FINRA that is typically sent to registered representatives in connection with an informal inquiry that does not have to be reported on your form U4. When you first receive an 8210 notice, FINRA is likely trying to determine if there have been any violations of securities and/or industry rules and/or regulations. You should notify your compliance officer, as they will likely have already received a copy from FINRA, but being transparent is important.

It is important to meet with an attorney as soon as possible to determine the best ways in which to protect your interests during the process. All involved parties will not necessarily share the same interests, i.e., your firm and/or supervisor may have their own self-preservation interests. As part of the 8210 notice, you will be required to answer a list of questions (interrogatories) and produce sometimes a wide range of documents, both business and personal. The attorneys at Malecki Law are experienced in defending FINRA registered representatives and firms in FINRA disciplinary matters and can work with you in responding to interrogatories and assist you with your document production using state of the art electronic discovery tools.

In working with your attorney to respond to interrogatories and produce documents you should also start to prepare for a potential “on the record” interview (or “OTR” for short). OTRs before FINRA involve sitting in a conference room with investigators and answering their questions under oath. You should have your attorney prepare and accompany you to an OTR. While not all cases involve an OTR, many do. Experienced counsel will know the best way to couch what happened with the right language and explanation. Furthermore, it is important to identify and explain mitigating circumstances as soon as possible before enforcement decisions are made.

Malecki Law Investigating Investor Losses in Oil and Energy Investments

March 18, 2020 | Malecki Law Team

In March 2020 Oil prices had their worst day since 1991, plunging to multi-year lows. Tensions between Russia and Saudi Arabia and OPEC’s failure to strike a deal were escalated by the global economic slowdown spurred by COVID-19 resulting in oil’s worst day since 1991. With oil’s and the energy markets substantial price plunge the investment fraud attorneys at Malecki Law announce the firm’s investigation into potential securities law claims against broker-dealers relating to the improper concentration or oil and gas in portfolios, as well as the sale of energy related structured notes, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), and Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs). Malecki Law has successfully prosecuted a number of these cases, including obtaining awards of attorneys’ fees and costs for investors.

Malecki Law is interested in hearing from investors who were recommended concentrated positions in oil and gas, as well as those recommended futures in Oil and Gas, MLPs or energy sector ETFs. Investors have lost millions in these products as the energy markets dropped. As prices have continued to slide, losses have compounded. The energy market plunge is terrible for those whose financial advisors recommended that investors stay in and “ride it out.”

Unfortunately, many energy sector investments are risky investments that can be inappropriate for typical “mom and pop” investors, as well as those heading to or in retirement. Unfortunately, there are some financial advisors and brokers that sell them to their clients anyway, without fully disclosing the potentially devastating risks.

Virus Fears Have Thrashed the Markets

March 11, 2020 | Malecki Law Team

Predicated on fear of a global slowdown and the uncertainty around coronavirus, the stock has experienced extreme volatility as it heads into bear territory. While it may be expected for even the bluest of blue-chip stocks to experience volatility, investors should pay particular attention to their entire investment portfolios as it is in violate market climates that broker misconduct may reveal itself, especially as it relates to your investment objectives and suitability.

When the market suddenly drops, investment portfolios will reflect not only the fluctuations, but also the risks inherent inparticular strategies and investments. All securities carry risk, but some investment products have more than others. Risk tolerance refers to the level of uncertainty in investment performance that is acceptable to the investor. An investor’s risk tolerance is reflective of their financial situation, needs, age, objectives, time requirements, and other considerations. Generally, investors can be categorized within varying levels of conservative, moderate, or aggressive. The types of investments in an investor’s portfolio should reflect their risk tolerance. The changes that investors noticed in their portfolio during market shifts could be indicative of where their portfolio falls on this spectrum.

Investors with the lower risk tolerances should have a conservative investment strategy in place that shields their portfolio from significant declines in market downturns. The goal of conservative investors is to prioritize principal protection and liquidity over risky appreciation. A conservative investment portfolio will be mainly comprised of safer, low-risk fixed-income investments, such as bonds and certificates of deposits. While low-risk investments do not generate the highest returns, the chances of losing principal are much lower. Older individuals closer to retirement should have investment profiles that reflect a more conservative investment portfolio. It is a huge red flag for any conservative investors to have noticed a complete decline in their portfolio from the market downturn.