It used to be that only questionable brokerage firms sold nontraded REITs, which historically have had opaque fee structures, no real liquidity, and where investors lost about ten percent of their principal as soon as they made their nontraded, or private, REIT investment (based on about ten percent of the principal going toward brokerage firm… Read more

The Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA) came out with new Regulatory Notice 22-21 last week, which advises brokerage firms regarding fraudulent account transfers. FINRA’s Regulatory Notices are meant to alert brokerage firms to potential regulatory and compliance issues and direct them on what their obligations are. The account transfer fraud which FINRA warns member firms about… Read more

The Internal Revenue Service announced a significant increase in enforcement actions for syndicated conservation easement transactions, a priority compliance area for the agency. Syndicated conservation easements are private placements that promise tax deductions worth four to four-and-a-half times a person’s investment. Some syndicated conservation easement deals are representing to investors that they will receive charitable contribution deductions… Read more

San Francisco, CA, February 22, 2021 – The Law Offices of Jeffrey A. Feldman has filed a FINRA Arbitration on behalf of a client where it is alleged that Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC allowed an imposter to hack into the account of Fidelity’s client, liquidate the client’s investments, and send the funds from the client’s… Read more