Elder Abuse

Seniors are at risk for scams when banking online

Published on: August 26, 2020 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

In our digital era, many tasks that used to require face-to-face interaction have moved online. Take banking. Driving to the bank and waiting in line to speak to a teller is no longer necessary for many transactions.

Online banking is the way of the future, and many senior citizens are following suit. However, our elderly loved ones face a higher risk of suffering online scams. If your mother, father or another relative who is a senior citizen has made the jump to online banking, this is how you can help them avoid fraud.

Why seniors are at risk

Investment Advisor – Fraud and Breach of Fiduciary Duties.

Published on: November 17, 2019 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

True investment advisers have fiduciary obligations that they owe to their clients. As such, they have an obligation to make full and fair disclosure to clients and prospective clients concerning their material conflicts of interest, including conflicts arising from financial incentives, and to act consistently with those disclosures. This principle is reflected in Form ADV, which reminds advisers of their general obligation to fully disclose material facts relating to their advisory business and specifically requires disclosure concerning the compensation and fees that advisers and their supervised persons receive, including from asset-based charges and service fees.

The chance of a conflict of interest arising increases based upon the number of rolls that a professional assumes in dealing with a client. This is especially true for attorneys. Some attorneys attempt to provide estate and tax planning advice to clients and then offer investments to those clients through broker/dealer or investment advisory firms with which they are associated. When does the attorney’s legal advice end and his investment activities commence? This is a question that is difficult to answer. Every factual situation will be different. If you have any questions concerning an investment that you have made based upon the recommendation of your attorney/advisor, please feel free to contact us.

Contact Us:

1 Global Capital, LLC and Carl Ruderman – Fraud in the Sale of Unregistered Securities – South Florida Securities and Commercial Litigation Attorney

Published on: September 3, 2018 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

SEC Charges Florida Cash Advance Company, Former CEO with Defrauding Thousands of Retail Investors

Securities and Exchange Commission v. 1 Global Capital, LLC, Carl Ruderman, et al., No. 18-civ-61991 (S.D. Fla. filed August 23, 2018)

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against 1 Global Capital LLC and its former chief executive officer for allegedly defrauding at least 3,400 retail investors, more than one-third of whom invested their retirement funds. The Florida-based cash advance company and former CEO Carl Ruderman allegedly fraudulently raised more than $287 million since 2014 in unregistered securities sold through a network that included barred brokers.

John C. Maccoll – High Pressure Sales Primarily Directed at Elder and Retired Clients – South Florida FINRA Arbitration Attorney

Published on: August 18, 2018 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. John C. Maccoll, No. 2:18-cv-12473-SFC-DRG (E.D. Michigan filed August 9, 2018)

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a former registered representative with defrauding his brokerage customers out of nearly $4 million in a long-running investment scam.

According to the SEC’s complaint, John C. Maccoll, who was affiliated with the Birmingham, Michigan branch of a nationwide registered broker dealer and investment adviser, used high pressure sales tactics to solicit at least 15 of his retail brokerage customers to invest in what he described as a highly-sought-after private fund investment. Most of the injured customers were elderly and retired and invested through their retirement accounts. Maccoll told his customers that the purported fund investment would allow them to diversify their portfolios, receive annual investment returns as high as 20%, and give them investment growth potential that was better than the growth they received in their brokerage accounts. As alleged in the complaint, Maccoll’s statements to his customers were false – he did not invest the customers’ money but stole it for his own personal use. In total, the customers invested nearly $4 million in the fraudulent scheme. To conceal the scheme, Maccoll allegedly instructed his customers not to tell others about the purported fund investment, provided some of his customers with fake account statements reflecting fictitious returns, and paid over $400,000 in Ponzi-like payments to certain of the customers to keep the scheme alive.

Mohamud Abdi Ahmed and 2waytrading, LLC. – South Florida Unregistered Investment Adviser Fraud and Misrepresentation Attorney

Published on: May 14, 2017 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

South Florida Unregistered Investment Adviser Fraud and Misrepresentation Attorney.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Mohamud Abdi Ahmed and 2waytrading, LLC, No. 17-cv-1478 (D. Minn. filed May 4, 2017)

SEC Halts Fraudulent Conduct by Recidivist and Unregistered Investment Adviser Firm

Richard G. Cody – Boca Raton, Florida Elder Financial Abuse and Breach of Fiduciary Duty Litigation and Arbitration Attorney

Published on: December 16, 2016 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Richard G. Cody – South Florida, including Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth and West Palm Beach, Elder Financial Abuse and Breach of Fiduciary Duty Litigation and Arbitration Attorney Russell L. Forkey, Esq.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Richard G. Cody, et al., Civil Action No. 16-cv-12510-FDS (D. Mass., filed Dec. 12, 2016)

SEC Charges Investment Adviser with Defrauding Massachusetts Retirees

Joseph Andrew Paul, John Ellis, James Quay and Donald Ellison – Boca Raton, Florida Senior and Retirement Investment Fraud Attorney

Published on: April 4, 2016 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Joseph Andrew Paul, John Ellis, James Quay and Donald Ellison – Boca Raton, Florida Elder, Senior and Retirement Investment Fraud Litigation and Arbitration Attorney

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that it has charged four individuals in a fraud whose victims included seniors who were solicited at “free dinner” investment seminars in Florida.

The SEC alleges that Philadelphia residents Joseph Andrew Paul and John D. Ellis, Jr. lied about the track record of their investment advisory firm and recruited James S. Quay of Atlanta and Donald H. Ellison of Palm Bay, Florida, to lure potential victims with promises of lofty returns.

Retirement Planning Fraud – South Florida Retirement Financial Fraud Attorney

Published on: November 21, 2015 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Retirement Planning Fraud – South Florida Retirement Financial Fraud and Financial Exploitation Attorney:

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Bobby M. Collins, Civil Action No. 3:15-cv-3620-D (N.D. Tex. November 10, 2015)

SEC Charges Texas Man with Orchestrating Fraud Scheme Targeting Senior Investors

Boca Raton, Florida – Elder Financial Abuse FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: August 23, 2015 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Boca Raton, Florida – Elder Financial Abuse FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney:

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:

Retirement and Senior Financial Abuse Litigation and Arbitration Attorney

Published on: June 9, 2015 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

South Florida Retirement and Senior Financial Abuse Litigation and Arbitration Attorney

How You Can Help Others Who May Have Diminished Financial Capacity

You may have a parent or other loved one with diminished financial capacity, or who you worry may face that issue in the future. If so, consider the following steps to help.