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Articles Posted in Ponzi Schemes

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On August 13, 2021, a FINRA arbitration panel ordered Respondent HighTower Securities LLC to fully refund its investor-customer’s purchases of GPB Automotive Portfolio LP and GBP Waste Management LP, which the investor had made in reliance upon the advice and recommendations of HighTower Securities. That investor presented substantial evidence to the FINRA arbitration panel that HighTower Securities failed in its obligations to conduct adequate due diligence regarding GPB Capital and its affiliates. The SEC has charged GPB Capital and its affiliates with running a “Ponzi-like” scheme that raised approximately $1.8 billion. Much of that total was invested in the following funds: GPB Holdings, LP / GPB Holdings Qualified, LP GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP GPB Holdings II, LP GPB Waste Management, LP / Armada Waste Management, LP Financial advisors such as HighTower Securities LLC are being found responsible for investors’ GPB losses based upon evidence that they failed in their obligations to adequately investigate GPB and/or turned a blind eye to red flags concerning GPB’s finances and business operations when recommending GPB funds to their clients. Broker-dealers are supposed to recommend only suitable investments to their clients and perform due diligence on the products they sell. FINRA-registered brokers and firms are subject to arbitration to resolve disputes.On August 13, 2021, a FINRA arbitration panel ordered Respondent HighTower Securities LLC to fully refund its investor-customer’s purchases of GPB Automotive Portfolio LP and GBP Waste Management LP, which the investor had made in reliance upon the advice and recommendations of HighTower Securities. That investor presented substantial evidence to the FINRA arbitration panel that HighTower Securities failed in its obligations to conduct adequate due diligence regarding GPB Capital and its affiliates. Continue reading ›

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The SEC has sued investor John J. Woods of Marietta, GA, over allegations that his company, Southport Capital Investment, were running a Ponzi scheme called Horizon Private Equity. In its petition, the SEC requested a temporary restraining order to stop Woods from continuing to operate both his company and the Horizon investment fund. As with other Ponzi-style schemes, investors were told that that their investments would bring 6% to 7% rates of return, and funds not used to pay previous investors. More than 400 investors in 20 different states, many of them elderly, have invested in Horizon, expecting that kind of return. Unfortunately, those who have received “returns” were simply paid from the inflow of funds from newly acquired investors. Wood is the president and majority owner of Southport, which is registered with the SEC as Livingston Group Asset Management Company, Inc. According to filings, he operates the company from his Marietta base and maintains 17 offices in nine states with remote employees, managing over $824 in investments for the firm’s client base. Woods’ brother and cousin are also involved in the company.The SEC has sued investor John J. Woods of Marietta, GA, over allegations that his company, Southport Capital Investment, were running a Ponzi scheme called Horizon Private Equity. In its petition, the SEC requested a temporary restraining order to stop Woods from continuing to operate both his company and the Horizon investment fund. Continue reading ›

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Silver Law Group is representing clients who invested in Seeman Holtz promissory notes, which were sold primarily to senior investors. The company has not paid the insurance-policy backed notes when they matured. On Friday, June 11, 2021, partner and co-founder Eric Holtz died by suicide in California. In a press release, the company announced Holtz’s death, but denied that it was related to the pending lawsuits. The suits were filed on June 7th, and company was notified of the lawsuits on June 14th. The company had previously claimed it could not repay investors due to “financial problems.” Seeman Holtz has recently auctioned its property and casualty insurance business, Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty. Additionally, public records state that Seeman Holtz received $4,269,400 in PPP funds on April 7th, 2020. "Our clients were told to invest every dollar they had in the world with these investments. I've spoken to investors who had from $100,000 to $10 million invested with Seeman Holtz and they are panicking," said Scott Silver, Silver Law Group’s managing partner.Silver Law Group is representing clients who invested in Seeman Holtz promissory notes, which were sold primarily to senior investors. The company has not paid the insurance-policy backed notes when they matured.

On Friday, June 11, 2021, partner and co-founder Eric Holtz died by suicide in California. In a press release, the company announced Holtz’s death, but denied that it was related to the pending lawsuits. The suits were filed on June 7th, and company was notified of the lawsuits on June 14th. Continue reading ›

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MJ Capital Funding, a business based in Pompano Beach, FL that claimed it used investor money to make merchant cash advance loans, has been accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of operating as a Ponzi scheme. Silver Law Group is investigating a potential class action lawsuit to help investors recover their losses. If you are an MJ Capital investor, contact Silver Law Group at 855-755-4799. On Friday, August 13, 2021 the SEC announced in a press release that it had filed “an emergency action and obtained a temporary restraining order, an asset freeze, and the appointment of a receiver to stop an alleged Ponzi scheme and misappropriation of investor proceeds perpetrated by Coral Springs, Florida resident Johanna M. Garcia and two entities she controls.” MJ Capital Funding And Johanna Garcia Allegedly Raised Over $70 Million According to the SEC’s complaint, Garcia and her companies, MJ Capital Funding, LLC and MJ Taxes and More, Inc., used fraudulent securities offerings to raise at lease $70 million from over 2,150 investors.MJ Capital Funding, a business based in Pompano Beach, FL that claimed it used investor money to make merchant cash advance loans, has been accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of operating as a Ponzi scheme.

Silver Law Group is investigating a potential class action lawsuit to help investors recover their losses. If you are an MJ Capital investor, contact Silver Law Group at 855-755-4799. Continue reading ›

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Scott Silver, Silver Law Group’s managing partner, was recently interviewed for an article on Investmentnews.com that details the alleged “hot air” spewed by brokers to sell $1.8 billion of GPB Capital Holdings to investors. Silver Law Group represents investors in claims to recover GPB investment losses. If you have losses from investing in GPB, contact Silver Law Group for a no-cost consultation at (800) 975-4345 or at ssilver@silverlaw.com. Founded in 2013 by Scientologist David Gentile, GPB calls itself an alternative asset manager that invested in income-producing companies, including auto dealerships and a waste management company. To raise capital, GPB used dozens of regional broker dealers and advisory firms across the country to sell private placements  in its various funds to investors. Investors in GPB were told by their brokers and financial advisers that they were buying into a company that would pay 8% distributions and may one day go public to give them additional return. GPB Goes Downhill GPB private placements have not performed the way investors believed they would. In 2018, GPB stopped paying distributions to customers. In 2019, the FBI raided the company’s offices, class action lawsuits were filed, and the company reported that the value of its funds was down significantly.Scott Silver, Silver Law Group’s managing partner, was recently interviewed for an article on Investmentnews.com that details the alleged “hot air” spewed by brokers to sell $1.8 billion of GPB Capital Holdings to investors.

Silver Law Group represents investors in claims to recover GPB investment losses. If you have losses from investing in GPB, contact Silver Law Group for a no-cost consultation at (800) 975-4345 or at ssilver@silverlaw.com. Continue reading ›

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Scott SilverScott Silver, Silver Law Group’s managing partner, recently gave a presentation to the American Association of Justice on Ponzi schemes and how victims may be able to recover their losses from third party professionals. Scott is the chair of the securities fraud group of the American Association of Justice and lectures frequently on Ponzi schemes and investment fraud. Most people think of Bernie Madoff when they think of Ponzi Schemes. His was the most famous and biggest in history. But in the decade since his scheme was revealed, there have been more than 600 Ponzi schemes, which have not gotten as much attention. Non Stock Market Correlated Assets Scott noted that in recent years many investors have sought non-stock market correlated assets, and that Wall Street has tried to replace the commissions it used to earn on stock sales with commissions on investments that are exempt from registration. Non-traditional, unregistered securities may be more likely to be associated with fraud than other securities., Silver Law Group’s managing partner, recently gave a presentation to the American Association of Justice on Ponzi schemes and how victims may be able to recover their losses from third party professionals. Scott is the chair of the securities fraud group of the American Association of Justice and lectures frequently on Ponzi schemes and investment fraud. Continue reading ›

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The SEC recently issued a final judgment against Jose Angel Aman, the mastermind behind three Ponzi schemes involving uncut colored diamonds and cryptocurrency. The order involves disgorgement of $4.2 million in ill-gotten gains and legal fees of $325,033. Additionally, the criminal case ordered him to pay restitution of $23.9 million, which includes the $4.2 million disgorgement. In a case that repeats like so many before it, Aman, along with his partner first began offering unsolicited securities in about May 2014. Their two Palm-Beach based companies, Natural Diamonds and Eagle Financial Diamond Group Inc. collected $25 million from investors. The draw was investing in the company that would purchase raw, uncut colored diamonds, cut them, then resell the alleged stones at a significant profit. The principal would be returned within two years with an alleged 24% rate of return. The men assured investors that their investments were safe because the money was secured by Aman’s diamond inventory that was alleged to be worth $25 million. When the investment periods ended, Aman would convince the investors to “roll over” their money into new investments. Their “reinvestment contracts” allowed them to keep the scheme going until they could find new investors and raise additional capital to pay out.The SEC recently issued a final judgment against Jose Angel Aman, the mastermind behind three Ponzi schemes involving uncut colored diamonds and cryptocurrency. The order involves disgorgement of $4.2 million in ill-gotten gains and legal fees of $325,033. Additionally, the criminal case ordered him to pay restitution of $23.9 million, which includes the $4.2 million disgorgement. Continue reading ›

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Another Miami hedge fund has been accused of fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On April 23, 2021 the SEC filed a complaint that charges Andrew Franzone and investment adviser FF Fund Management, LLC “with fraudulently raising and misappropriating tens of millions of dollars from the sale of limited partnership interests in a private fund, FF Fund I LP.”Another Miami hedge fund has been accused of fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On April 23, 2021 the SEC filed a complaint that charges Andrew Franzone and investment adviser FF Fund Management, LLC “with fraudulently raising and misappropriating tens of millions of dollars from the sale of limited partnership interests in a private fund, FF Fund I LP.” Continue reading ›

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Silver Law Group, a national securities and investment fraud law firm that represents Ponzi scheme victims, is investigating Harbor City Capital Corp. and its founder, Melbourne, Florida resident Jonathan P. Maroney (JP Maroney, Jonathan Paul Maroney), for running an alleged Ponzi scheme. Jonathan P. Maroney Alleged To Have Sold Unregistered Fraudulent Securities An emergency action filed April 20, 2021, by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in federal court in the Middle District of Florida alleges that Maroney used Harbor City Capital, a purported "online lead generation campaign business," and a number of entities to raise $17.1 million through offerings of unregistered fraudulent securities. Jonathan P. Maroney allegedly used those proceeds to maintain his Ponzi scheme and for his personal use. Maroney, 50, sold unregistered fraudulent securities as either promissory notes, fixed-rate funding agreements, or high yield, secured bonds while promising investors monthly returns ranging from 1 percent to 5 percent—and annual returns from 10 percent to 60 percent. Through marketing videos and social media, Jonathan P. Maroney ensnared over 100 victims across the United States, according to the SEC.Silver Law Group, a national securities and investment fraud law firm that represents Ponzi scheme victims, is investigating Harbor City Capital Corp. and its founder, Melbourne, Florida resident Jonathan P. Maroney (JP Maroney, Jonathan Paul Maroney), for running an alleged Ponzi scheme. Continue reading ›

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained a temporary restraining order and asset freeze against Melbourne, Florida resident Jonathan P. Maroney, accusing him of running an ongoing Ponzi scheme through his company Harbor City Capital Corp., LLC and other entities. Although characterized as an internet marketing company, Maroney allegedly structured the company to raise money from investors who would profit from Harbor City Capital’s operations placing ads on the internet.  In reality, according to the SEC allegations, Maroney used investor money for his own use and benefit and was operating a Ponzi scheme. The SEC emergency action, filed April 20, 2021, in federal court in the Middle District of Florida, halted the alleged Ponzi scheme and marketing scam that the SEC said was ongoing. Maroney, 50, raised more than $17.1 million by offering fraudulent unregistered securities to finance his business of online “customer lead generation campaigns,” in which online sales leads are created and sold to third party businesses. In fact, very little of the capital that Maroney raised through his securities offerings went into this business, the SEC alleges, and was instead misappropriated for Maroney’s personal use, to make payments to entities unrelated to the purported purpose of the offerings, and to keep his Ponzi scheme going. Maroney and two relief defendants, Celtic Enterprises, LLC, a company he runs, as well as Maroney’s wife, Tonya L. Maroney, are charged with violating the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws. In addition to the emergency relief granted by the Court, the complaint seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions, disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty from each of the defendants.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained a temporary restraining order and asset freeze against Melbourne, Florida resident Jonathan P. Maroney, accusing him of running an ongoing Ponzi scheme through his company Harbor City Capital Corp., LLC and other entities. Although characterized as an internet marketing company, Maroney allegedly structured the company to raise money from investors who would profit from Harbor City Capital’s operations placing ads on the internet. In reality, according to the SEC allegations, Maroney used investor money for his own use and benefit and was operating a Ponzi scheme. Continue reading ›

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