If you bought an investment from your broker that involved oil and gas drilling, residential real estate, commercial real estate, luxury or vacation clubs, gold or precious metals, life settlements, structured settlements, or other business venture or investment opportunities you may have been a victim of securities fraud if the investment:
- risks were not disclosed to you,
- was not suitable for you,
- was not registered by the SEC,
- sold without or an incomplete prospectus,
- was not approved for sale by the broker-dealer,
- did not have adequate due diligence performed by the broker-dealer,
- gave promises of annual returns in excess of 8-10%,
- check was made payable to the broker or a company different than your brokerage firm or its clearing firm,
- is listed on a statement produced only by the broker and sent to you, or
- was subject to a regulatory investigation or Ponzi Scheme.
The above may have been legitimate investments sold inappropriately to you or they may have been unregistered and unapproved securities sold by the broker away from his or her broker-dealer without permission. In any case, if you lost money or have unrealized losses as a result of these instances or other fraudulent means then you may be entitled to a recovery of your losses. Call the Securities Law Firm of Menzer & Hill, P.A. for a free consultation.