Articles Posted in General Investment News

Oil and Gas Limited Partnerships and Oil and Gas Offering Fraud, Misrepresentation and Mismanagement – South Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Deerfiled Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Lake Worth and West Palm Beach, Litigation and Arbitration Attorney

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.”

Nonpublic Information Florida Securities and Investment Fraud, Misrepresentation and Omission FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney:

Nonpublic information is information about a company, either positive or negative, that will have a material effect on the stock or bond price when it is released to the public.  Insiders, such as corporate officers, members of the board of directors, and third parties associated with the company, including public relation firms, certified public accountants and attorneys are not allowed to trade on material nonpublic information until it has been released to the public, since they would have an unfair advantage over unsuspecting investors.

Please keep in mind that the above information 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 as legal or investment advice.  If you have any questions about the contents of this post, you should contact a qualified professional.

Illegal Short Selling – Florida Illegal Short Selling, Securities and Investment Fraud Litigation and Arbitration Attorney:

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Revelation Capital Management Ltd. and Christopher P.C. Kuchanny, Civil Action No. 14-cv-0645 (S.D.N.Y., filed January 31, 2014)

SEC Charges Bermudian Investment Adviser and Principal for Illegal Short Selling

South Florida Hedge Fund Mismanagement, Fraud and Breach of Fiduciary Duty Federal and State Court Litigation Attorney:

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Berton M. Hochfeld, et al., Civil Action No. 12-CV-8202 (S.D.N.Y.)

Final Judgments Entered Against Former Hedge Fund Manager and His Company

Private Equity Fund and Private Equity Fund Management Mismanagement and Fruad – South Florida Federal and State Court Litigation and Arbitration Attorney:

SEC Charges Manhattan-Based Private Equity Manager With Stealing $9 Million in Investor Funds:

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a Manhattan-based private equity manager and his firm with stealing $9 million from investors in their private equity fund.

South Florida Elder, Senior and Retirement Financial Abuse and Exploitation FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney:

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Palladino, et al., Civil Action No. 13-11024-DPW (United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts)

Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Palladino, Crim. Action Nos. 13-10207, 13-10891; Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Viking Financial Group, Inc., Crim. Action Nos. 13-10209, 13-10894 (Suffolk Superior Court)

Elder, Senior and Financial Abuse and Exploitation FINRA Arbitration, Litigation and Probate Estate Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq.

Extent of Elder Abuse Victimization:

We have been focusing recently or our website, www.forkeylaw.com and on this blog about various issues relating to elder, senior and retirement financial abuse and exploitation.  This post is designed to provide some statistics which reflect the growing problems in this area of senior life.

Hybrid Senior, Elder and Retirement Financial Abuse and Exploitation Arbitration, Litigation and Probate Estate Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq.

Hybrid financial exploitation.

 It has been determined that a relatively unrecognized situation, referred to as hybrid financial exploitation, arises when financial exploitation co-occurs with physical abuse and/or neglect.  These cases typically involve financially dependent family members, particularly adult offspring, who have been cared for by the elderly person for years , if not decades.  The abuse suffered by these elderly victims is frequently longstanding.  Over time, however, as the elderly person’s health declines and the elderly person becomes more socially isolated, often as the result of the death of a spouse, the elderly person increasingly becomes more dependent on another family member for care, resulting in a mutual dependency, albeit with each member of the dyad experiencing a different type of dependency.  Although sharing some features in common with physical abuse and neglect, hybrid financial exploitation cases are unique in many ways and tend to result in worse outcomes for elderly victims than result from other forms of elder maltreatment.  These outcomes may be attributable to the additional stress associated with the financial loss that is experienced.

Unsuitable and Inappropriate Mutual Fund Switching – Stuart, Hope Sound, Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Lantana, Delray Beach, Lake Worth and Boca Raton, Florida FINRA Arbitration, Mediation and Litigation Attorney:

Mutual Fund Switching:

Mutual fund switching is the moving of assets from one mutual fund to another, either within the same fund family or between different fund families.  There is no charge for switching within a no-load family of mutual funds.  A sales charge might have to be paid when switching from on load fund to another even within the same family of funds.

South Florida Improper and/or Unsuitable Asset Allocation FINRA Arbitration, Federal and State Court Litigation Attorney:

Asset Allocation – Asset Allociation involves dividing an investment portfolio among different asset categories, such as stocks, bonds, and cash. The process of determining which mix of assets to hold in your portfolio is a very personal one. The asset allocation that works best for you at any given point in your life will depend largely on your time horizon and your ability to tolerate risk.

Time Horizon – Your time horizon is the expected number of months, years, or decades you will be investing to achieve a particular financial goal. An investor with a longer time horizon may feel more comfortable taking on a riskier, or more volatile, investment because he or she can wait out slow economic cycles and the inevitable ups and downs of our markets. By contrast, an investor saving up for a teenager’s college education would likely take on less risk because he or she has a shorter time horizon.

Contact Information