Articles Posted in Investment Fraud

On February 4, 2013, the SEC filed suit against Richard K. Olive and Susan L. Olive in the Southern District of Florida in a charitable-gift-annuity scheme. The Olives allegedly drew $75 million from more than 400 investors in at least 30 states. In March of 2008 the Olives took over the inactive nonprofit, We The People, which…

On January 28, 2013, the SEC charged Jesse Litvak, a former executive of Jefferies & Co. a New York based broker-dealer, with defrauding investors in a mortgage-backed securities (MBS) investment scheme. According to the SEC’s complaint, Litvak allegedly purchased MBS investments from some customers of Jefferies & Co. and subsequently sold the investments to other Jefferies &…

On January 11, 2013, FINRA released its regulations and priorities examination letter. This annual letter serves as a notice to the industry on what FINRA will be focusing on in the coming year and what it sees as heighten risk areas. According to FINRA’s letter, “FINRA is particularly concerned about sales practice abuses, yield-chasing behaviors, and…

In the recent Massachusetts Securities Division suit against LPL Financial over non-traded REITs, Inland American Real Estate Trust was targeted. So who exactly is Inland American? In short, Inland American is the industry’s largest non-traded real estate investment trust. According to their website, Inland American Real Estate Trust, Inc. is a publicly traded Maryland corporation sponsored by their…

On December 12, 2012 the Massachusetts Securities Division filed suit against LPL Financial, LLC regarding the sale of non-traded REITs. Massachusetts specifically targeted LPL’s sale of Inland American Real Estate Trust. According to the complaint, LPL received at least $1,403,477.40 in commissions from sales of Inland American’s non-traded REITs. According to a recent article in InvestmentNews entitled Galvin’s LPL…

Apparently since David Lerner began selling Apple REIT investments to moms and pops across the country ($6.8 billion), it has consistently listed the price per share of the various Apple REIT investments as $11. The accuracy of this $11 per share amount is undermined, however, by the fact that the values and profitability of the…

Last week, FINRA’s complaint filed against David Lerner & Associates triggered a storm of media attention scrutinizing the brokerage firm’s alleged sales practices violations related to its distribution of Apple REITs investments. The FINRA complaint also exposed that the $11 price per share of all Apple REITs offered are overvalued and that each REIT has…

If you are a David Lerner customer who is invested in Apple REITs and have read the newspapers this week, you have probably been searching for quality information to help you assess whether: (1) your REIT investments have lost money; (2) you are in danger of losing money and (3) there are any steps that…

The New York headquartered brokerage firm David Lerner & Associates has marketed Apple REIT’s to its customers as investments that provide safe income. Since 1992, David Lerner has sold more than $6 billion of Apple REITs into over a hundred thousand of its customer accounts. More specifically, since January 2011, David Lerner has sold over…

The Wall Street Journal reports that FINRA filed suit against David Lerner Associates, Inc. for allegedly failing to satisfy its due diligence and suitability obligations in connection with the sale of Apple REITs. Since 1992 David Lerner has sold more than $6 billion in Apple REITs to its investors. The FINRA complaint alleges that the Apple REITs…