Woodbridge Wealth

Woodbridge Group of Companies Principal Robert Shapiro Takes the 5th Amendment

November 28, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Robert Shapiro, president and CEO of Woodbridge Group of Companies (“Woodbridge”), has reportedly refused to answer questions from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) relating to its investigation of Woodbridge’s business practices.

In a letter to the SEC, filed in federal court papers, Mr. Shapiro’s lawyer writes, “Upon consideration of the SEC’s investigative subpoenas and a review with counsel of the individual rights afforded by the United States Constitution, Mr. Shapiro will rely on his constitutional privilege to refuse to be a witness against himself.”

This disclosure occurs on the heels of a related SEC action against Woodbridge for the production of documents including e-mails and corporate documents relating to dozens of companies. According to the SEC, Woodbridge has raised over $1 billion from thousands of investors nationwide and is now under investigation for possible violations of the securities laws including anti-fraud violations.

Woodbridge Group of Companies Under SEC Investigation

November 28, 2017 | Silver Law Group

The SEC is investigating Woodbridge Group of Companies’ (“Woodbridge”) business practices.

According to a recent SEC application and supporting papers filed in federal court in Miami, Florida, the SEC is investigating whether Woodbridge and others have violated or are violating the antifraud, broker-dealer, or securities registration provisions of the federal securities laws in connection with Woodbridge’s receipt of more than $1 billion of investor funds from thousands of investors nationwide.

As part of the SEC’s ongoing investigation, on January 31, 2017, agency staff in the SEC’s Miami Regional Office served Woodbridge with a subpoena seeking, among other documents, the production of electronic communications that the company maintained relating to Woodbridge’s business operations. The SEC’s application alleges that although Woodbridge was required to produce these documents to the SEC, Woodbridge has failed to produce relevant communications in response to the subpoena, including those of three high-level Woodbridge officials.

Woodbridge Group of Companies’s CEO and President Robert Shapiro Pleads the Fifth in SEC Investigation Over $1 Billion Fraud

November 22, 2017 | Silver Law Group

CEO and President of Woodbridge Group of Companies (“Woodbridge Group”) Robert Shapiro is allegedly invoking his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent after the SEC has made repeated requests for documents from him and Woodbridge Group.

The SEC’s Subpoena for Documents Against Woodbridge Group

The SEC first launched an investigation into Woodbridge Group in November 2016. The SEC was looking into the “offer and sale of unregistered securities, the sale of securities by unregistered brokers and the commission of fraud in connection with the offer, purchases and sale of securities.”