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The securities litigation and regulatory firm of Lubiner, Schmidt & Palumbo is ready to assist Woodcliff Lake investors who have lost money in their brokerage account or otherwise been victimized unscrupulous, incompetent or simply negligent stockbrokers. Woodcliff Lake investors need a firm like Lubiner, Schmidt & Palumbo to protect them; only last year, Woodcliff Lake resident Jeffrey Palish, employed at Wells Fargo in nearby Paramus, agreed to be barred from the securities industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Palish consented to FINRA’s findings that he took $180,000 in loans from an elderly client without the ability or intent to repay the funds to the client. The securities group at Lubiner, Schmidt & Palumbo has practiced securities law for several decades in courts in New York and New Jersey and in securities arbitrations nationwide administered by FINRA. Among the attorneys at the firm is a former stockbroker, a former Brooklyn, New York prosecutor and a former Wall Street investment firm in house lawyer. The experienced securities fraud attorneys at Lubiner, Schmidt & Palumbo will be able to assist Woodcliff Lake investors who believe their broker has mishandled their securities account and/or their retirement funds or have concerns regarding a specific investment sold to them.
The term securities fraud refers to multiple actions of stockbrokers that can result in financial harm to Woodcliff Lake investors. Unauthorized trading, excessive trading/churning, negligence and misrepresentations/omissions by financial advisors can lead to Woodcliff Lake investors suffering losses in their accounts. Lubiner, Schmidt & Palumbo securities fraud attorneys can investigate and prosecute such cases on behalf of financially injured Woodcliff Lake investors.
Another area of expertise of the Lubiner, Schmidt & Palumbo law firm concerns margin trading. Brokers allow clients to borrow funds from the firm, using the securities held in the clients’ account as collateral. By increasing the clients’ buying power through margin, clients can theoretically increase trading profits in their accounts. However, the opposite is true (and frequently happens): margin trading increases the potential for losses if the market moves against the clients’ positions. Most knowledgeable Wall Street experts would say that margin trading should only be utilized by experienced and sophisticated investors.
In addition to being wary of unsuitable or inappropriate trading strategies, Woodcliff Lake investors should be aware of the risk factors surrounding the various investment products available in today’s marketplace. Current popular investment products include Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”). REITs are created by bundling income producing properties such as office building complexes, hospitals, etc. They are similar to mutual funds in that they trade on major exchanges. However, non-traded REITs are an entirely different investment. Non-traded REITs do not trade on national exchanges and are meant to be held eight years or longer. Therefore, they are very illiquid and are difficult to sell prior to maturity. If an investor is able to sell a non-traded REIT before maturity, the sales proceeds will most likely be substantially below the purchase price. Non-traded REITs may not be suitable for many Woodcliff Lake investors.
Unfortunately, Woodcliff Lake investors may also become the victims of unscrupulous financial advisors who engage in more complex securities fraud. Ponzi schemes are complicated ruses designed to relieve investors of their assets. In a Ponzi scheme the financial advisor entices investors to place their funds in unusual investments such as promissory notes, unregistered private stock, etc. The bad actor typically uses investors’ funds for personal purchases, such as autos, and personal expenditures on homes, jewelry, etc. He pays “returns” to initial investors to keep them happy and prevent detailed questions about the investment’s performance. Meanwhile, he entices new investors to contribute to the scheme and uses the new investors’ funds to pay the returns to the initial investors. The scheme eventually collapses like a house of cards when there are no new investors to make payments to the original investors. Unfortunately, by the time the fraudulent scheme is unearthed, most of the investors’ funds have been spent by the bad actor.
An all to frequent problem currently facing the securities industry involves elder abuse, as discussed in the first paragraph. Industry regulators have passed new regulations to prevent of the abuse of elderly investors but have not been completely successful. See here, here, here and here. Senior Woodcliff Lake investors may not understand the activity reflected in their account statements or the risks involved in investments presented to them by an unscrupulous broker. If you are an elderly Woodcliff Lake investor, or a friend or relative of one, and have questions concerning investments in your account, contact the experienced securities lawyers at Lubiner, Schmidt & Palumbo.
Woodcliff Lake investors who have suffered financial losses, or question whether their brokerage account has been mishandled, have the experienced securities litigation attorneys at Lubiner, Schmidt & Palumbo a phone call away. Contact Lubiner, Schmidt & Palumbo for a consultation.