December 2017-Boca Raton, FL
According to a complaint filed in MIami, FL, by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Robert H. Shapiro and a group of unregistered investment companies called the Woodbridge Group of Companies LLC, defrauded over 8,400 investors, many of them seniors, out of more than $1.2 billion in a Ponzi scheme.
In their press release, the SEC describes the Woodbridge Group of Companies as a Ponzi scheme. “We allege that through aggressive tactics, Woodbridge and Shapiro swindled seniors into a business model built on lies, which the SEC’s Miami Regional Office staff moved to halt,” said Stephanie Avakian, Co-Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division.
The SEC complaint filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida alleges that Shapiro used a web of layered companies to conceal his ownership in the purported third party borrowers and that the Woodbridge business model was a sham.
The scheme ran from 7/2012-12/2017.
Companies named as defendants include:
- Woodbridge Structured Funding
- Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund 1
- Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund 2
- Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund 3
- Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund 3A
- Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund 4
- Woodbridge Commercial Bridge Loan Fund 1
- Woodbridge Commercial Bridge Loan Fund 2
- 144 Woodbridge-Affiliated Property Ltd.
- 1331 Woodbridge-Affiliated Holding Ltd.
If your financial advisor recommended that you invest in one of the Woodbridge investments, you may be able to recover damages. Pursuing your individual rights in a FINRA arbitration should not affect the rights you have to participate in the Woodbridge bankruptcy proceeding.
Call for a no charge consultation to discuss your legal options.
Rex Securities Law , with offices in Boca Raton, FL, and Austin, TX, provides representation to investors nationwide who are seeking recovery of investment losses due to the negligence or fraud of stockbrokers and broker dealers. If you have questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney.
Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.
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