SEC Charges Principals of a Texas Oil and Gas Company with Conducting a Fraudulent Offering of Preferred Stock and Limited Partnership Interests, and Charges Seller with Acting as an Unregistered Broker

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Paul R. Downey, et al., Civil Action No. 1:14-CV-00185-C (N.D. Tex. Abilene Division)

Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged two principals of Quest Energy Management Group, Inc. (Quest), Paul Downey of Naples, Florida and Jeffry Downey of Abilene, Texas, with conducting a fraudulent offering of preferred stock and limited partnership interests. The SEC also charged John Leonard, a salesman residing in Naples and Chicago, with acting as an unregistered broker in offering and selling the investment.

The SEC alleges that between January 2010 and May 2011, the father-son duo of Paul and Jeffry Downey used Quest, an Albany, Texas-based oil and gas company, to fraudulently offer Quest preferred stock and limited partnership units in an entity called Permian Advanced Oil Recovery Investment Fund I, LP (PAOR). Investors were told that PAOR would acquire working interests in oil and gas leases from Quest and receive revenue from those leases. With assistance from unregistered salesman John Leonard, the Downeys raised $4.8 million from approximately 17 investors. The PAOR offering was fraudulent on account of blatantly deceptive misstatements about Quest and PAOR. More particularly, the Downeys made false statements in the private placement memorandum about the financial viability of Quest; the purchase debt and liens associated with certain leases in which PAOR was acquiring an interest; the current and projected petroleum production from the leases; the use of investor funds raised in the offering; independent audits of PAOR; and foreseeable litigation against Quest and the Downeys.

On May 24, 2013, the U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, appointed Burton Wiand, a Tampa attorney, as receiver over Quest, based on Quest’s receipt of funds from a Ponzi scheme conducted by Arthur Nadel and others. In re Arthur Nadel, et al., Lit. Rel. No. 20858 (January 21, 2009). The receivership is ongoing.

The SEC’s complaint against the Downeys and Leonard alleges that the Downeys violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and that Leonard violated Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act. The SEC’s complaint seeks from the Downeys and Leonard disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and permanent injunctive relief, and additionally against the Downeys, officer and director bars.

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At the Boca Raton Law Office of Russell L. Forkey, we represent clients throughout South and Central Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Manalapan, Jupiter, Gulf Stream, Wellington, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jupiter, Miami, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Deland, New Smyrna Beach, Ormand Beach, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Dade County, Orange County, Seminole County, Martin County, Brevard County, Indian River County, Volusia County and Monroe County, Florida. The law office of Russell L. Forkey also represents South American, Canadian and other foreign residents that do business with U.S. financial institutions, investment advisors, brokerage and precious metal firms.

An oil and gas limited partnership is legally set up using the same format as any type of limited partnership. It is created by filing articles of limited partnership or its equivalent in the state of its domicile. For example, Florida Statute, Chapter 620 governs the legal requirements that must be followed in the formation, operation and dissolution of the limited partnership, whether it is engaged in the oil and gas business or not. This post is limited to a general discussion of an oil and gas limited partnership.

An oil and gas limited partnership is made up of one or more general partners and one or more limited partners. Generally, it is structured to find, extract, and market commercial quantities of oil and natural gas. These types of investments are usually offered by prospectus, in the case of a public offering, and by a private offering memorandum, in the case of a private offering of securities. In either offering document, it is important to consider, among other things, who is making the offering, which brings to the forefront such items as experience, prior success and financial stability. The next important section of the document relates to the “risk” factor section of the document. Usually, in bold type there is a phrase such as “this offering involves a high degree of risk and should be considered only by those investors who can stand to lose their entire investment.”

In reading and attempting to understand a prospectus or private offering memorandum relative to an oil and gas limited partnership, it is important to bear in mind that there are a number of key words and phrases that are used throughout the document, which are words of art and many times do not mean exactly how the reader would interrupt them. For example, what is an exploratory or wildcat well vs. a development well vs. a development drilling program? Does it make a difference on the risk vs. reward scale how deep the well is going to be drilled and the type of geological formations that the well will have to be drilled through? What is the importance of such phrases of “working interest” or “revenue interest?”

If you are reading this post, you should be getting the idea that these are very complicated investments and that you should seek qualified professional advice before making an investment. Some but not all of risks can be reduced if you know what can be verified and how to go about doing it.

Normally, we don’t include asides with educational posts; however, in the most recent case that we dealt with concerning an oil and gas venture, there were a number of fraudulent statements that were made and documents provided by the promoters to the investors. One of the most glaring was the fact that the investors wanted to see some of the other producing wells that had been drilled by the promoter. The promoter was quick to comply with the request and showed the investors a number of other wells that it had drilled, which were producing oil and gas. Unfortunately, the investors did not know how to verify this representation and later found out that the promoter had no interest in any of the wells.

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With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of oil, gas and securities law, our firm provides all of our clients with the personal service they deserve. Handling cases worth $25,000 or more, we represent clients throughout Florida and across the United States, as well as for foreign individuals that invested in U.S. banks or brokerage firms. Contact us to arrange your free initial consultation.

At the Fort Lauderdale Law Office of Russell L. Forkey, we represent clients throughout South and Central Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Manalapan, Jupiter, Gulf Stream, Wellington, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jupiter, Miami, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Deland, New Smyrna Beach, Ormand Beach, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Dade County, Orange County, Seminole County, Martin County, Brevard County, Indian River County, Volusia County and Monroe County, Florida. The law office of Russell L. Forkey also represents South American, Canadian and other foreign residents that do business with U.S. financial institutions, investment advisors, brokerage and precious metal firms.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced charges and an emergency asset freeze against the perpetrators of a Texas-based Ponzi scheme involving purported investments in oil and gas projects.

The SEC alleges that Robert A. Helms and Janniece S. Kaelin, who work out of an office in Austin, misled investors about their experience in the oil and gas industry while raising nearly $18 million for supposed purchases of oil and gas royalty interests. Despite representations that nearly all of the money they raised would be used to make oil and gas investments, Helms and Kaelin actually used only a fraction of the offering proceeds for that purpose. Instead, the vast majority of investor funds were used to make Ponzi payments and cover various personal and business expenses.

“Helms and Kaelin pretended to be in the oil and gas business when they were really in the business of fattening their own wallets,” said David R. Woodcock, director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office. “They lied to investors about the use of offering proceeds, spent investor funds on personal expenses, and made Ponzi payments to give investors the false impression that they were earning returns in a profitable venture.”

The SEC’s complaint unsealed late yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas also charges Deven Sellers of Arvada, Colo., and Roland Barrera of Costa Mesa, Calif., with illegally selling investments for Helms and Kaelin without being registered with the SEC. They also allegedly misled investors about the sales commissions and referral fees they were receiving.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Helms and Kaelin began offering investments in 2011 through Vendetta Royalty Partners, a limited partnership that they control. They have since attracted at least 80 investors in more than a dozen states while promising in offering documents that they would use more than 99 percent of the investment proceeds to acquire a lucrative portfolio of oil and gas royalty interests. The offering documents were fraudulent as Helms and Kaelin invested only 10 percent of the proceeds, and the oil and gas projects in which they actually did invest generated only minuscule returns.

The SEC alleges that Helms and Kaelin directed Vendetta Royalty Partners to make approximately $5.9 million in so-called partnership income distributions to investors. They used money from newer investors to make the distributions to earlier investors. Helms and Kaelin created the illusion that Vendetta Royalty Partners was a profitable enterprise when, in fact, it was a fraudulent Ponzi scheme. Some offering documents touted Helms to have extensive oil-and-gas experience, misrepresenting that he had “worked with various mineral companies over the last 10 years advising management on issues involving the acquisition and management of royalty interests, mineral properties and related legal and financial issues.” In fact, Helms’s oil-and-gas experience came almost entirely from operating Vendetta Royalty Partners and its affiliated or predecessor companies.

The SEC alleges that Helms and Kaelin misled investors about other important matters besides their business background and industry reputation. They failed to disclose the existence of litigation against them and companies they control. They misrepresented the performance of the limited oil-and-gas royalty investments actually under their management. And they failed to inform investors that Vendetta Royalty Partners was behind on its line of credit. The company ultimately defaulted.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Helms and Kaelin along with Sellers and Barrera told potential investors that any commissions or finder’s fees would be small. However, Sellers and Barrera each received more than $200,000 in such fees on one investment alone. Sellers and Barrera regularly solicited investments without being registered as brokers.

At the SEC’s request, the court entered an order temporarily restraining the defendants from further violations of the federal securities laws, freezing their assets, prohibiting the destruction of documents, requiring them to provide an accounting, and authorizing expedited discovery.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that the defendants violated the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5. The complaint further alleges that Sellers and Barrera acted as unregistered brokers in violation of Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act. The complaint requests permanent injunctions and the disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest and penalties.

Contact Us:

With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of securities law, our firm provides all of our clients with the personal service they deserve. Handling cases worth $25,000 or more, we represent clients throughout Florida and across the United States, as well as for foreign individuals that invested in U.S. banks or brokerage firms. Contact us to arrange your free initial consultation.

At the Fort Lauderdale Law Office of Russell L. Forkey, we represent clients throughout South and Central Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Manalapan, Jupiter, Gulf Stream, Wellington, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jupiter, Miami, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Deland, New Smyrna Beach, Ormand Beach, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Dade County, Orange County, Seminole County, Martin County, Brevard County, Indian River County, Volusia County and Monroe County, Florida. The law office of Russell L. Forkey also represents South American, Canadian and other foreign residents that do business with U.S. financial institutions, investment advisors, brokerage and precious metal firms.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced fraud charges against a husband and wife in Texas for stealing funds from foreign investors under the guise of an investment opportunity to create U.S. jobs and a path to U.S. residency.

The SEC alleges that Marco and Bebe Ramirez and three companies they own have fraudulently raised at least $5 million from investors by falsely promising that their money would be invested as part of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Pilot Program. Through the program, foreign investors can earn conditional visas and eventually green cards by making investments in U.S. economic development projects that will create or preserve a minimum number of jobs for U.S. workers. Instead of investing the money as promised, the Ramirezes routinely diverted investor funds to other undisclosed businesses and for their personal use. In at least one instance, they used new investor funds to make Ponzi-like payments to an existing investor.

According to the SEC’s complaint unsealed recently in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the Ramirezes initially targeted investors in Mexico, but more recently have solicited investors in Egypt and Nigeria. The court has granted the SEC’s request to freeze the assets and accounts of the Ramirezes and their three companies: USA Now LLC, USA Now Energy Capital Group LP, and Now Co. Loan Services. This effectively halts their ability to raise further money from investors or spend any remaining funds in the scheme.

The SEC and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued a joint investor alert that provides additional information about the EB-5 program and cautions investors about fraudulent EB-5 schemes. USCIS offered substantial assistance in the SEC’s investigation of the Ramirezes. The EB-5 program is administered by USCIS and enables foreign investors to make their investments either directly in a business or through EB-5 “regional centers” that are private entities organized to promote economic development in specific geographic areas and industries.

According to the SEC’ s complaint, beginning in 2010, the Ramirezes sought approval from USCIS to register USA Now as an EB-5 regional center that would accept and direct investments from foreign investors into investment opportunities that would purportedly satisfy the EB-5 visa requirements. But even before USCIS decided, the Ramirezes and other USA Now employees already had started soliciting investors with false promises about how their money would be invested.

The SEC alleges that the Ramirezes told investors that USA Now would hold their investments in escrow until they received USCIS approval. And once the funds were released from escrow, they would be used for specific business purposes. However, the Ramriezes failed to hold the funds in escrow as required, and instead routinely diverted the funds for other uses not described in offering materials, often on the same day the funds were received. Among their misappropriations, the Ramirezes appear to have opened a Cajun-themed restaurant with investor funds and settled an unrelated lawsuit. Meanwhile, none of the at least 10 investors identified by the SEC as victims of the scheme have received visas from USCIS, and none of their funds seem to remain in escrow.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that the Ramirezes and their companies violated and aided and abetted violations of the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint seeks various relief including preliminary and permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and financial penalties.

Contact Us:

With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of securities law, our firm provides all of our clients with the personal service they deserve. Handling cases worth $25,000 or more, we represent clients throughout Florida and across the United States, as well as for foreign individuals that invested in U.S. banks or brokerage firms. Contact us to arrange your free initial consultation.

At the Fort Lauderdale Law Office of Russell L. Forkey, we represent clients throughout South and Central Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Manalapan, Jupiter, Gulf Stream, Wellington, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jupiter, Miami, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Deland, New Smyrna Beach, Ormand Beach, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Dade County, Orange County, Seminole County, Martin County, Brevard County, Indian River County, Volusia County and Monroe County, Florida. The law office of Russell L. Forkey also represents South American, Canadian and other foreign residents that do business with U.S. financial institutions, investment advisors, brokerage and precious metal firms.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged the owner of two Florida-based companies with defrauding investors in five oil and gas offerings by misrepresenting such key facts as the amount of available reserves, the use of investor funds, and his past success in the oil and gas industry.

The SEC alleges that Ronald Walblay of Delray Beach, Fla., perpetrated the fraud through RyHolland Fielder Inc., which has managed a number of oil and gas limited partnerships, and his former brokerage firm Energy Securities Inc., which sold the partnerships’ interests – none of which were registered with the SEC as required under the federal securities laws. Walblay raised at least $12 million from more than 195 U.S. and foreign investors by falsely touting in sales brochures that RyHolland Fielder offered millions of barrels of oil and natural gas reserves. Walblay also falsely touted in offering materials that investors could receive potential returns of up to 2,270 percent. Meanwhile, not a single investor had ever profited from any of the partnerships, and Walblay used a greater percentage of investor funds than was disclosed to pay salaries and marketing expenses for investor conferences.

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the unregistered securities offerings by Walblay and his firms were in Basin Oil L.P., Basin Oil HV L.P., Great Plains Oil L.P., Permian Basin Oil L.P., and Texas Permian Oil LLLP. They solicited investors from approximately January 2009 to November 2012.

The SEC alleges that in some offerings Walblay falsely portrayed to investors that RyHolland Fielder offered billions of cubic feet of natural gas reserves in place. Walblay, Energy Securities, and RyHolland lacked any basis to make this statement to investors because no such reserves existed.

The SEC further alleges that the offering materials for the limited partnerships misled investors about the use of proceeds. For example, contrary to the statements made in documents distributed to investors, money raised from investors in the Permian Basin Oil L.P. offering were partly used to pay expenses incurred in the prior oil and gas offerings.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Walblay exaggerated his past success in the industry. For instance, he told investors that a prior offering he conducted in 1991 featured a well that produced more than 100,000 barrels of oil in less than 45 days. There was no basis to make this statement.

The SEC’s complaint charges Energy Securities, RyHolland, and Walblay with violating Sections 5(a) and (c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5. The complaint also charges Walblay with aiding and abetting violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5. The SEC seeks financial penalties, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and permanent injunctions.

Contact Us:

With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of securities law, our firm provides all of our clients with the personal service they deserve. Handling cases worth $25,000 or more, we represent clients throughout Florida and across the United States, as well as for foreign individuals that invested in U.S. banks or brokerage firms. Contact us to arrange your free initial consultation.

At the Fort Lauderdale Law Office of Russell L. Forkey, we represent clients throughout South and Central Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Manalapan, Jupiter, Gulf Stream, Wellington, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jupiter, Miami, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Deland, New Smyrna Beach, Ormand Beach, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Dade County, Orange County, Seminole County, Martin County, Brevard County, Indian River County, Volusia County and Monroe County, Florida. The law office of Russell L. Forkey also represents South American, Canadian and other foreign residents that do business with U.S. financial institutions, investment advisors, brokerage and precious metal firms.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) recently announced that it barred Johnny Clifton, who was president, chief executive officer, and principal of MPG Financial, LLC, a former Commission-registered broker-dealer, from associating with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization, entered a cease-and-desist order, and imposed a $150,000 third-tier civil money penalty. The Commission found that Clifton violated Sections 17(a)(1), 17(a)(2), and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 because he made material misrepresentations and omissions in the offer and sale of oil-and-gas limited partnership interests, and through those misrepresentations, omissions, and other misconduct he engaged in a fraudulent scheme and course of business that operated as a fraud on prospective investors. The Commission also found that Clifton violated Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 because he failed reasonably to supervise at least one MPG Financial sales representative with a view towards detecting and preventing the sales representative’s securities law violations. Concluding that it was in the public interest to impose a full collateral bar on Clifton, the Commission stated that “[h]is repeated and egregious misconduct evidences an unfitness to participate in the securities industry that goes beyond the professional capacity in which he was acting” and “demonstrates his unfitness to participate in the securities industry in any capacity.”

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With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of securities law, our firm provides all of our clients with the personal service they deserve. Handling cases worth $25,000 or more, we represent clients throughout Florida and across the United States, as well as for foreign individuals that invested in U.S. banks or brokerage firms. Contact us to arrange your free initial consultation.

At the Fort Lauderdale Law Office of Russell L. Forkey, we represent clients throughout South and Central Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Manalapan, Jupiter, Gulf Stream, Wellington, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jupiter, Miami, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Deland, New Smyrna Beach, Ormand Beach, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Dade County, Orange County, Seminole County, Martin County, Brevard County, Indian River County, Volusia County and Monroe County, Florida. The law office of Russell L. Forkey also represents South American, Canadian and other foreign residents that do business with U.S. financial institutions, investment advisors, brokerage and precious metal firms.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Bret Boteler, Civil Action No. 4:13-cv-00527-Y (N.D.TX., filed June 28, 2013)

SEC Charges Oil and Gas Promoter with Securities Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed a civil injunctive action charging Bret L. Boteler of Bedford, Texas with conducting a fraudulent oil and gas-related securities offering that raised more than $17 million from 260 investors across the country.

The Commission’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleges that, between October 2007 and December 2011, Boteler offered and sold the securities through his now-defunct company, EnerMax, Inc., and that he never registered the offering with the Commission. The complaint further alleges that Boteler falsely portrayed EnerMax to investors as an innovative, technologically sophisticated company offering high quality oil and gas prospects. The complaint also alleges that Boteler misrepresented and omitted material information about the speculative and unproven nature of the prospects in which EnerMax was involved, and that Boteler misused and misappropriated investor funds.

The complaint charges Boteler with violating Sections 5(a) and (c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The Commission seeks civil penalties, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains (with prejudgment interest) and a permanent injunction against Boteler, including an injunction prohibiting him from offering or selling oil and gas-related securities.

Contact Us:

With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of securities law, our firm provides all of our clients with the personal service they deserve. Handling cases worth $25,000 or more, we represent clients throughout Florida and across the United States, as well as for foreign individuals that invested in U.S. banks or brokerage firms. Contact us to arrange your free initial consultation.

At the Fort Lauderdale Law Office of Russell L. Forkey, we represent clients throughout South and Central Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Manalapan, Jupiter, Gulf Stream, Wellington, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jupiter, Miami, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Deland, New Smyrna Beach, Ormand Beach, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Dade County, Orange County, Seminole County, Martin County, Brevard County, Indian River County, Volusia County and Monroe County, Florida. The law office of Russell L. Forkey also represents South American, Canadian and other foreign residents that do business with U.S. financial institutions, investment advisors, brokerage and precious metal firms.

A Limited Partnership is an organization made up of a General Partner, who manages the entity, and limited partners, who invest money but have limited liability, are who are not involved in the day-to-day management and operation of the venture. With certain exceptions, limited partners usually cannot lose more than their invested capital. Limited partnerships are engaged in business ventures such as real estate, oil and gas and equipment leasing.

Public limited partnerships are sold through brokerage firms by the use of written offering documents. Private limited partnerships can be offered through various means. Regardless, each offering method must comply with federal and state securities laws.

There are a number of claims that can be made by investors who feel that they were fraudulently induced into investing. These claims are based upon violations of the anti-fraud provision of federal or state securities laws or common law claims such as fraud-in-the-inducement.

Claims that might arise after the investment has been made may be based upon breach of the terms of the limited partnership agreement, mismanagement or violation of state laws relating to the operation and management of the limited partnership.

Please keep in mind that this post is being provided for educational purposes only. It is not designed to be complete in all material respects. Thus, it should not be relied upon for legal or investment advice. If you have any questions concerning the contents of this post, the reader should consult with a qualified professional.

Contact Us:

With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of securities law, our firm provides all of our clients with the personal service they deserve. Handling cases worth $25,000 or more, we represent clients throughout Florida and across the United States, as well as for foreign individuals that invested in U.S. banks or brokerage firms. Contact us to arrange your free initial consultation.

At the Fort Lauderdale Law Office of Russell L. Forkey, we represent clients throughout South and Central Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Manalapan, Jupiter, Gulf Stream, Wellington, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jupiter, Miami, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Deland, New Smyrna Beach, Ormand Beach, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Dade County, Orange County, Seminole County, Martin County, Brevard County, Indian River County, Volusia County and Monroe County, Florida. The law office of Russell L. Forkey also represents South American, Canadian and other foreign residents that do business with U.S. financial institutions, investment advisors, brokerage and precious metal firms.

Joseph Hilton a/k/a Joseph Yurkin (Hilton), of Boca Raton, Florida, has been barred from the securities industry. The sanction was ordered in an administrative proceeding before an administrative law judge, following a February 2013 injunction against violations of the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws. Although subject to a broker-dealer bar, Hilton, using various misrepresentations and omissions and other fraudulent conduct, including managing a boiler room, sold unregistered securities in the form of limited partnership units.

Contact Us:

With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of securities law, our firm provides all of our clients with the personal service they deserve. Handling cases worth $25,000 or more, we represent clients throughout Florida and across the United States, as well as for foreign individuals that invested in U.S. banks or brokerage firms. Contact us to arrange your free initial consultation.

At the Fort Lauderdale Law Office of Russell L. Forkey, we represent clients throughout South and Central Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Manalapan, Jupiter, Gulf Stream, Wellington, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jupiter, Miami, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Deland, New Smyrna Beach, Ormand Beach, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Dade County, Orange County, Seminole County, Martin County, Brevard County, Indian River County, Volusia County and Monroe County, Florida. The law office of Russell L. Forkey also represents South American, Canadian and other foreign residents that do business with U.S. financial institutions, investment advisors, brokerage and precious metal firms.