Woodbridge Wealth Management

Our team of securities attorneys is interested in talking to investors who purchased Woodbridge Promissory Notes. Presently we are investigating allegations and claims levied by the SEC as well as state regulators concerning Woodbridge Wealth Management. Woodbridge filed for bankruptcy in December 2017 and has been labeled as a Ponzi Scheme by the SEC. According to an SEC lawsuit filed in December of 2017, the company lured registered investment advisors with the promises of incredible commissions and used a power sales team to market their promissory notes. The promissory notes were marketed as secure investments offering safety of principal and high income to retail investors. The Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund 3, LLC for instance offered a 10% distribution for 5 years with the investor receiving his promissory note back after the 5-year period ceased. The security afforded was a first lien on the portfolio of properties held in the investment fund.

These properties included posh estates such as the famous Owlwood estate previously owned by Sunny and Cher. The reality according to the SEC in their December 2017 court filings was that the incredible returns Woodbridge was paying simply came from the money new investors poured into the fund. There was no security as there was not enough properties to cover the investors who purchased the promissory notes.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Woodbridge still managed to raise $350 million from new investors in a span of 13 months, despite being under investigation by the SEC and a number of State securities regulators. Woodbridge stopped raising new funds after declaring bankruptcy in December 2017. Massachusetts was one the first states to step into the fold, issuing a cease and desist order against Woodbridge on May 4, 2015. Texas and Arizona followed shortly after and investigations were underway by numerous state regulators, including the New Jersey Bureau of Securities.

The registered investment advisors and brokers who sold Woodbridge Promissory Notes have an obligation to perform basic research on the securities they market, otherwise they are acting negligently. Brokers and investment advisors who sold the Woodbridge Promissory Notes knowing of the state and federal investigations being commenced against Woodbridge, as any simple google search would have shown, and failed to reveal the information to their clients, violated their fiduciary duty of honesty and fair dealing and committed securities fraud. Furthermore, Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund material was only supposed to be marketed to accredited investors, or someone with a joint net worth exceeding $1,000,000 or joint income above $300,000. Brokers who marketed this product to investors who did not meet these financial thresholds have in addition to committing securities fraud also violated suitability rules.

The attorneys of Lubiner Schmidt & Palumbo have been extensively involved in the Woodbridge Wealth Management and Promissory Note scandal. We have handled regulatory work dealing with the New Jersey Bureau of Securities and Woodbridge and are presently working for investors who have sustained total loses in their Woodbridge Promissory Notes. If you have invested in Woodbridge Funds or purchased a Woodbridge promissory note please contact us for a consultation.