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

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.

The Potential Risks of Investing in Unregistered Securities

Many fraudulent schemes occur in relation to trading securities that average investors do not know enough about. The average investor is not well-versed in the complexities of the financial world including private placements, Reg D offerings and alternative investments.

However, many fraudulent firms make their profits from trading securities that are not properly registered or brokers that do not have the correct license. These firms and agents do this through setting up different vehicles to hide the activity of their securities and other means.

Contact Silver Law for a Free Consultation

If you have invested with an investment firm that is undergoing an investigation from the SEC, we recommend you reach out to our law firm in order to examine the contracts that were signed and figure out whether you have a case to bring against the company that you invested with or the brokerage firms, investor advisors or others who sold these investments.

Woodbridge Wealth and a selection of LLCs that are suspected to be connected to their business are currently being investigated by the SEC. Woodbridge is affiliated with several companies including Woodbridge Wealth, Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Funds and Woodbridge Structured Funding.

If you have invested with Woodbridge Wealth or another firm that you suspect has irregularities in the contract, it is best to have an attorney review your contracts to ensure that they are following industry regulations properly.

How Our Firm Can Potentially Assist You

Our firm has a long-established track record of success with assisting our clients from all over the country to challenge their investment contracts that were entered into under fraudulent circumstances. Depending on whether you suspect you have been defrauded by a firm that specializes in commercial mortgages, or promises of high income with limited or no risk, we highly recommend that you reach out to us to schedule a consultation.

Our attorneys will be able to determine whether you have a case and provide recommendations of how you can proceed to attempt to get back the investment capital that you lost. We only work on a contingency fee basis, meaning we only get paid if we help you recover money.