When it comes to making an intelligent investment decision, nothing is fool-proof. However, there are some basic sales tactics that should turn your “red light” on. Some of the most common include:

The “Phantom Riches” Tactic: Here the salesperson dangles the prospect of wealth, enticing you with something you want but can’t have. “These gas wells are guaranteed to produce $6,800 a month in income.”

The “Source Credibility” Tactic: Here the salesperson tries to build credibility by claiming to be a reputable expert. “Believe me, as a senior vice president of XYZ Firm, I would never sell an investment that doesn’t produce.”

The “Social Consensus” Tactic: Here the salesperson leads you to believe that other savvy investors have already invested. “This is how ___ got his start. I know it’s a lot of money, but I’m in-and so is my mom and half her church-and it’s worth every dime.”

The “Reciprocity” Tactic: The salesperson offers to do a small favor for you in return for a big favor. “I’ll give you a break on my commission if you buy now-half off.”

The “Scarcity” Tactic: The salesperson creates a false sense of urgency by claiming limited supply. “There are only two units left, so I’d sign today if I were you.”

If these tactics look familiar, it’s because legitimate marketers use them, too. However, when we are not prepared to resist them, these tactics can work subliminally. Little wonder that victims often say to regulators or their attorneys after they have been scammed, “I don’t know what I was thinking” or “it really caught me off guard.” Recently, we have seen a lot of this in precious metals scams. That’s why an important part of resisting these common persuasion tactics is to understand them before encountering them.

What are some Red Flags of Fraud:

Guarantees: Be suspect of anyone who guarantees that an investment will perform a certain way. All investments carry some degree of risk.

Unregistered products: Many investment scams involve unlicensed individuals selling unregistered securities-ranging from stocks, bonds, notes, hedge funds, oil or gas deals, or fictitious instruments, such as prime bank investments.

Overly consistent returns: Any investment that consistently goes up month after month-or that provides remarkably steady returns regardless of market conditions-should raise suspicions, especially during turbulent times. Even the most stable investments can experience hiccups once in a while.

Complex strategies: Avoid anyone who credits a highly complex investing technique for unusual success. Legitimate professionals should be able to explain clearly what they are doing. It is critical that you fully understand any investment you’re seriously considering-including what it is, what the risks are and how the investment makes money.

Missing documentation: If someone tries to sell you a security with no documentation-that is, no prospectus in the case of a stock or mutual fund, and no offering circular in the case of a bond-he or she may be selling unregistered securities. The same is true of stocks without stock symbols.

Account discrepancies: Unauthorized trades, missing funds or other problems with your account statements could be the result of a genuine error-or they could indicate churning or fraud. Keep an eye on your account statements to make sure account activity is consistent with your instructions, and be sure you know who holds your assets. For instance, is the investment adviser also the custodian of your assets? Or is there an independent third-party custodian? It can be easier for fraud to occur if an adviser is also the custodian of the assets and keeper of the accounts.

A pushy salesperson: No reputable investment professional should push you to make an immediate decision about an investment, or tell you that you’ve got to “act now.” If someone pressures you to decide on a stock sale or purchase, steer clear. Even if no fraud is taking place, this type of pressuring is inappropriate.

If you don’t feel comfortable in talking to the person that has contacted you and you can’t get off the phone, just hang up. The only thing that is going to happen is that you will more than likely save yourself money.

Contact Us:

With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of elder and senior abuse, exploitation 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 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.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) is a self-regulatory authority assigned the responsibility, by the Securities and Exchange Commission, to license, regulate and discipline securities broker/dealers and their employees, including account executives. In the event that FINRA elects to institute an enforcement action, firms and licensed individuals have the responsibility to reflect such action on their U-4 and/or U-5 filings, which can be viewed on the FINRA website under the broker-check section of the site or by viewing the monthly disciplinary information also provided on the FINRA site.

The monthly disciplinary information is referenced on the FINRA site generally in alphabetical order. This post relates to the following company or individuals. If the reader would like to review the entire FINRA release or the broker-check information concerning this matter, you can follow these highlighted links:

September 2014 Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions

Broker Check: http://www.finra.org/Investors/ToolsCalculators/BrokerCheck/

Luciano Andres Battioli (CRD #6229734, Huntington Beach, California) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Battioli consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he converted funds belonging to customers of his member firm’s affiliate bank, and forged and falsified bank documents. (FINRA Case #2013039521501)

Contact Us:

With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of elder abuse, exploitation 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 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.

SEC Announces Cases Targeting International Pyramid Scheme Operators

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced charges against the operators of an international pyramid scheme that raised more than $129 million from investors worldwide, primarily in the U.S., China, and Taiwan. The case follows another against a separate pyramid scheme that lured investors in the U.S., China, and Korea with seminars, webinars, and YouTube videos.

The newest case, filed in federal court in San Francisco, charges Hong Kong-based eAdGear Holdings Limited and California-based eAdGear, Inc., along with operators Charles S. Wang and Qian Cathy Zhang, of Warren, N.J., and Francis Y. Yuen, of Dublin, Calif. According to the SEC complaint, even though eAdGear claimed to be a successful Internet marketing company, nearly all of its revenue was generated by investors, not its products or services.

The complaint alleges that eAdGear’s operators used money from new investors to pay earlier investors as well as to repay a personal loan and purchase million-dollar homes for themselves. It alleges the operators concealed and perpetuated the scheme by displaying sham websites on eAdGear’s own site to make it appear as if it had real, paying customers and manipulated revenue distributions to investors to appear profitable.

“eAdGear and its operators falsely claimed that they were running a profitable Internet marketing company when in reality, they were operating a Ponzi and pyramid scheme that preyed on Chinese communities and caused investors to lose millions of dollars,” said Jina L. Choi, director of the SEC’s San Francisco Regional Office.

The eAdGear case follows one filed Monday in federal court in Georgia against Zhunrize Inc. and CEO Jeff Pan for allegedly defrauding investors of more than $105 million since 2012. Despite its claims to be a legitimate multi-level marketing company, Zhunrize derived most of its funds from selling memberships, not products, according to the SEC complaint.

“Zhunrize claimed to offer investors the opportunity to be an ‘e-commerce Business Owner’ selling products to customers through a website. In fact, it was a pyramid and ‘profits’ came from fees paid by later investors,” said William Hicks, associate regional director of the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office.

In both cases, the courts granted the SEC’s request for an asset freeze and issued a temporary restraining order. In the case of eAdGear, that order bars the defendants from soliciting investors, including through websites they have used until now – www.eadgear.com, www.eadgear.net, www.winteam777.com, and www.winteam168.com. A court hearing has been scheduled for October 10, 2014.

Contact Us:

With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of elder abuse, exploitation 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.

Every day each of my websites and email address receive numerous unwanted spam and and unsolicited contacts from what are clearly fraudsters. Obviously, the easiest way to deal with these types of contacts is to just delete them without opending the email itself or the attachment. However, this is easier said then done, especially wen dealing with some of the most proficient fraudsters.

In the most serious cases, a compromised email account can lead not only to identity theft, but also to theft of your money. That’s why one of the most important first steps you should take if your email account has been hacked is to notify your brokerage firm and other financial institutions.

Financial regulators, including FINRA, have received an increasing number of reports involving investor funds being stolen by fraudsters who first gain access to the investor’s email account, and then email instructions to the firm to transfer money out of the brokerage account.

How many of you have seen unsolicited emails from banks or credit card companies, asking you to update your profile or indicating that the security of your account has been breached and that you need to provide your access information to find out what happened? These types of things just don’t happen. Don’t be fooled. Call the institution at a secure number or somehow verify the information in a secured manner. If you follow the instructions or the links on the site notifying you of the problem that is probably just starting the issue itself.

By the time that you realize what has happened it is usually too late to do anything about it.

For more information on this issue, please follow the highlighted link “Learn about” the potential financial consequences of a compromised email account and get tips for safeguarding your assets.

Privacy Settings: Investors should be mindful of the default privacy settings when establishing an account on a social media website. The default privacy settings on many social media websites are typically broad and may permit sharing of information to a vast online community. Investors should check default settings and modify them, if appropriate, before posting any information on a social media website.

Biographical Information: Many social media websites require biographical information to open an account. This information may not have to be made available to other social media users once the account is active. Investors should consider customizing their privacy settings to minimize the amount of biographical information that they allow others to view on the website. For example, many users permit “friends” or authorized users to see their birthday month and date, but not the birth year. Or similarly, many users choose not to display their address, hometown, work or other identifying information.

Account Information: Investors should never communicate account information, Social Security numbers, bank information or other sensitive financial information on a social media website. If investors need to speak to their financial professionals regarding their accounts or investments, they should seek a firm-sponsored method of communication, such as telephone, letter, firm e-mail or firm-sponsored website. A financial professional’s social media website may not necessarily be a firm-sponsored site and may be that individual’s personal site.

Friends/Contacts: Investors should consider whether it is appropriate to accept a “friend” or other membership request from a financial service provider, such as a financial adviser or broker-dealer, given the intended purpose of the social media website. There is no obligation to accept a “friend” request of a service provider or anyone you do not know or do not know well. Denying a request may be appropriate, depending on your comfort level with the person requesting access to your media site. Remember that once a person is your “friend,” that person, and possibly that person’s friends, can see any posting made on your social media site, unless privacy restrictions are activated.

Site Features: Investors should familiarize themselves with the functionality of the social media website before broadcasting messages on the site. Investors should consider that certain messages may be seen only by specified recipients (direct mail, e-mail or instant messaging functionality) and others may be viewed by all users (for example, posts on the “wall” on Facebook).

On-Line Security Tips: As with all computer and web-based accounts, investors should take precautions to ensure that information contained in their social media accounts remains secure.

Pick a “strong” password, keep it secure, and change it frequently. Investors should select “strong” passwords for their social media accounts. Strong passwords are not easy to detect and generally consist of eight or more characters that are a combination of letters, numbers and symbols. Strong passwords should not be based on common words, phrases, or personal information, such as a name or birthday. Investors should keep their passwords in a safe place and out of plain sight. Investors should never share their social media passwords on the Internet, over e-mail, or on the phone. In addition, investors should change their social media passwords at least every six months.

Use different passwords for different accounts. Investors should not use a single password for different social media accounts. Using a single password for different social media account accounts is the equivalent of using a single key for your car, house, and mail box – if you lose the key, you give away access to everything.

Use caution with public computers or wireless connections. Investors should try to avoid accessing their social media accounts on public or other shared computers. Investors who use a public computer to access their social media account should remember:

• Log out of the account completely by clicking the “log out” button on the social media website to terminate the online session. Closing or minimizing the web browser does not necessarily log out the account.
• Delete the computer’s “temporary Internet files” and Internet history.

Investors should also be mindful of accessing their social media accounts on public wireless connections, such as at a coffee shop or airport. It is very easy to eavesdrop on Internet traffic, including passwords and other sensitive data, on a public wireless network. Investors who use a public wireless network to access their social media accounts should remember:

• Do not type any passwords unless the website you are accessing uses a secure connection that scrambles your password. The easiest way to determine whether a website is secure is to look in the address bar. If the page’s web address begins with “https” instead of “http,” then it is a secure connection.
• Avoid entering sensitive personal information. Investors should avoid accessing or providing any personal financial or investment information such as Social Security numbers, bank or brokerage account numbers, bank or brokerage account passwords, over a public wireless network.
• Turn off file sharing. With some computers, by default all of your hard drive is wide open to any other computer connected to the same network. Make sure this feature is turned off when accessing information over a public wireless network.
• Make sure your computer has current antivirus software and a firewall.

Be extra careful before clicking on links sent to you, even if by a friend. Investors should always verify that links or messages containing links that are sent to their social media accounts come from legitimate sources.

“Pump-and-Dumps” and Market Manipulations:

“Pump-and-dump” schemes involve the touting of a company’s stock (typically small, so-called “microcap” companies) through false and misleading statements to the marketplace. These false claims could be made on social media such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as on bulletin boards and chat rooms. Pump-and-dump schemes often occur on the Internet where it is common to see messages posted that urge readers to buy a stock quickly or to sell before the price goes down, or a telemarketer will call using the same sort of pitch. Often the promoters will claim to have “inside” information about an impending development or to use an “infallible” combination of economic and stock market data to pick stocks. In reality, they may be company insiders or paid promoters who stand to gain by selling their shares after the stock price is “pumped” up by the buying frenzy they create. Once these fraudsters “dump” their shares and stop hyping the stock, the price typically falls, and investors lose their money.

Fraud Using “Research Opinions,” Online Investment Newsletters, and Spam Blasts:

While legitimate online newsletters may contain useful information about investing, others are merely tools for fraud. Some companies pay online newsletters to “tout” or recommend their stocks. Touting isn’t illegal as long as the newsletters disclose who paid them, how much they’re getting paid, and the form of the payment, usually cash or stock. But fraudsters often lie about the payments they receive and their track records in recommending stocks. Fraudulent promoters may claim to offer independent, unbiased recommendations in newsletters when they stand to profit from convincing others to buy or sell certain stocks – often, but not always, penny stocks. The fact that these so-called “newsletters” may be advertised on legitimate websites, including on the online financial pages of news organizations, does not mean that they are not fraudulent.

High Yield Investment Programs:

The Internet is awash in so-called “high-yield investment programs” or “HYIPs.” These are unregistered investments typically run by unlicensed individuals – and they are often frauds. The hallmark of an HYIP scam is the promise of incredible returns at little or no risk to the investor. A HYIP website might promise annual (or even monthly, weekly, or daily!) returns of 30 or 40 percent – or more. Some of these scams may use the term “prime bank” program. If you are approached online to invest in one of these, you should exercise extreme caution – they are likely frauds.

Internet-Based Offerings:

Offering frauds come in many different forms. Generally speaking, an offering fraud involves a security of some sort that is offered to the public, where the terms of the offer are materially misrepresented. The offerings, which can be made online, may make misrepresentations about the likelihood of guaranteed or inflated returns. While the federal securities laws require the registration of solicitations or “offerings,” some offerings are exempt. Always determine if a securities offering is registered with the SEC or a state, or is otherwise exempt from registration, before investing.

While social media can provide many benefits for investors, it also presents opportunities for fraudsters. Social media, and the Internet generally, offer a number of attributes criminals find attractive. For example, social media lets fraudsters contact many different people at a relatively low cost. It is also easy to create a site, account, email, direct message, or webpage that looks and feels legitimate – and that feeling of legitimacy gives criminals a better chance to convince you to send them your money. Finally, it can be difficult to track down the true account holders that use social media. This anonymity makes it harder for fraudsters to be held accountable. Therefore, it goes without saying that investors need to use caution when using social media when considering an investment.

Here are some easy to follow tips to help you avoid online fraud:

Be Wary of Unsolicited Offers to Invest:

Investment fraud criminals look for victims on social media sites, chat rooms, and bulletin boards. If you see a new post on your wall, a tweet mentioning you, a direct message, an e-mail, or any other unsolicited – meaning you didn’t ask for it and don’t know the sender – communication regarding a so-called investment opportunity, you should exercise extreme caution. An unsolicited sales pitch may be part of a fraudulent investment scheme. Many scams use spam to reach potential victims. For example, with a bulk e-mail program, spammers can send personalized messages to millions of people at once for much less than the cost of cold calling or traditional mail. If you receive an unsolicited message from someone you don’t know containing a “can’t miss” investment, your best move is to pass up the “opportunity” and report it to the SEC Complaint Center.

To demonstrate how prevelent this type of communication is, I get at least two or three such contacts each week relating to unsolicited offers to legally represent someone in the collection of a debt. Some are very conviencing. The only reason that I have not been defrauded is though the exercise of due diligence on my part.

Look out for Common “Red Flags”

Wherever you come across a recommendation for an investment – be it on the Internet or from a personal friend (or both), the following “red flags” should cause you to use extreme caution in making an investment decision:

• It sounds too good to be true. Any investment that sounds too good to be true probably is. Compare any promised return with the returns on well-known stock indexes. Any investment opportunity that claims you’ll receive substantially more than that could be highly risky – or be an outright fraud. Be extremely wary of claims on a website that an investment will make “INCREDIBLE GAINS” or is a “BREAKOUT STOCK PICK” or has “HUGE UPSIDE AND ALMOST NO RISK!” Claims like these are hallmarks of extreme risk or outright fraud.
• The promise of “guaranteed” returns. Every investment entails some level of risk, which is reflected in the rate of return you can expect to receive. If your investment is 100% safe, you’ll most likely get a low return. Most fraudsters spend a lot of time trying to convince investors that extremely high returns are “guaranteed” or that the investment “can’t miss.” Don’t believe it.

Pressure to buy RIGHT NOW.

Don’t be pressured or rushed into buying an investment before you have a chance to think about – and investigate – the “opportunity.” Be especially skeptical of investments that are pitched as “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunities, particularly when the promoter bases the recommendation on “inside” or confidential information.

Look out for “Affinity Fraud”

Never make an investment based solely on the recommendation of a member of an organization or group to which you belong, especially if the pitch is made online. An investment pitch made through an online group of which you are a member, or on a chat room or bulletin board catered to an interest you have, may be an affinity fraud. Affinity fraud refers to investment scams that prey upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, the elderly, or professional groups. Even if you do know the person making the investment offer, be sure to check out everything – no matter how trustworthy the person seems who brings the investment opportunity to your attention. Be aware that the person telling you about the investment may have been fooled into believing that the investment is legitimate when it is not.

For examples of affinity fraud, the reader need look no further than the affinity fraud section of this blog.

Be Thoughtful About Privacy and Security Settings

Investors who use social media websites as a tool for investing should be mindful of the various features on these websites in order to protect their privacy and help avoid fraud. Understand that unless you guard personal information, it may be available not only for your friends, but for anyone with access to the Internet – including fraudsters.

Ask Questions and Check Out Everything

Be skeptical and research every aspect of an offer before making a decision. Investigate the investment thoroughly and check the truth of every statement you are told about the investment. Never rely on a testimonial or take a promoter’s word at face value. You can check out many investments using the SEC’s EDGAR filing system or your state’s securities regulator. You can check out registered brokers at FINRA’s BrokerCheck website and registered investment advisers at the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website.

Carefully Check Credentials of ‘Senior Specialists

Seniors should carefully check the credentials of individuals holding themselves out as “senior specialists.”

Con artists use the promise of high commissions to lure brokers, insurance agents, investment advisers, accountants, and lawyers, some of them not licensed to sell securities, into offering investments they may know little about, such as variable or equity-indexed annuities, bogus limited partnerships or promissory notes.

Some of these individuals hold nothing more than a “designation” as “senior specialists” implying that they have expertise in assisting seniors in structuring their investments in such a manner as to reduce taxes, minimize risk and avoid state probate laws.

State regulators are concerned these individuals are misusing “senior specialist” designations to provide a false sense of security to their customers.

While there are organizations whose members complete rigorous programs of study and pass extensive examinations to earn “senior specialist” designations, there are other organizations that require little or no training to use one of these designations.

For this reason, senior investors should make sure they deal only with individuals, licensed by state securities regulators who license brokers and investment advisers after they pass rigorous competency examinations.

Individuals may call themselves “senior specialists” to create a false level of comfort among seniors by implying a certain level of training on issues important to the elderly. But the training they receive is often nothing more than marketing and selling techniques targeting the elderly. These sales people and the alphabet soup of letters after their names can be confusing, and in some cases, may even be deceptive to seniors.

NASAA’s Investment Adviser Operations Project Group has observed a significant increase in designations claiming to provide the holder with expertise in providing services to investors 55 years and older.

State securities regulators have opened a number of cases in recent years involving “senior specialists.” Most of the cases involve securities recommendations by individuals who are not properly licensed by state securities regulators.

Bogus senior specialists commonly target senior investors through seminars where the specialist reviews seniors’ assets, including securities portfolios. Typically, the specialist recommends liquidating securities positions and using the proceeds to purchase indexed or variable annuities products the specialist offer.

In many jurisdictions, these recommendations may be viewed as providing investment advice for compensation. In such cases, the senior specialist would be offering investment advice as an unregistered investment adviser and, therefore, be subject to enforcement action by regulatory agencies.

Before doing business with any investment professional, all investors, especially senior investors, should check with their state securities regulator to determine whether the individual is properly licensed and if there have been any complaints or disciplinary problems involving the individual or his or her firm.

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.