Securities Fraud Lawyer Blog

Guy Gentile former StockUSA owner charged by The Securities and Exchange Commission.

On March 23, 2016, the SEC charged Guy Gentile, a former registered representative and owner of StockUSA Execution Services of Carmel, NY with improper manipulation of “penny stocks.”

The SEC complaint alleges that Gentile, who owned and ran StockUSA manipulated trading, improperly made payments, and created fake promotional materials touting natural resources companies such as raven Gold and Kentucky USA Energy.   The SEC claims that most of the activity in the trading of the companies stocks was generated by Gentile as part of an effort to manipulate the price for profit.

Update on Lawsuit against Summit Trust Company

On October 27, 2015 the SEC announced that it settled a lawsuit against Kevin Brown and George  Brown for their roles in the fraudulent, unregistered securities offering by Summit Trust Company.

IRA custodians like Summit Trust allow individuals to make their own investment decisions with their IRA funds.  Investors looking for non-traditional investments  can roll “qualified” pretax funds from a 401k or a pension plan into a self-directed IRA.  Once the funds are in the account the investor “directs” the IRA custodian to purchase an investment, which is usually memorialized by a promissory note, a contract or shares of stock.  Once a year the IRA custodian will contact the investment sponsor and ask for a value on the investment, and will report that value to the IRS to ensure that the investor isn’t charged taxes on the investment.

Update on Lawsuit against Provident Trust Group

A lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California against Provident Trust Group in May, 2013 was voluntarily dismissed by the lawyer for the Plaintiff in September, 2013. Named as a defendant in the lawsuit was IRA custodian Provident Trust Group.

Among the allegations against Provident Trust were that they lent an “air of legitimacy” to ponzi schemes and other scams, and knew or should have known that their company was being used by fraudsters to fleece unsuspecting retirees.

Update of lawsuit against Vantage Retirement Plan IRA.

A lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California was dismissed by the court for failure to state a claim. A court of appeals upheld the dismissal in December, 2015.  Named as a defendant in the lawsuit was IRA custodian Vantage Retirement Plan IRA.

Among the allegations against Vantage Retirement Plan IRA were that they lent an “air of legitimacy” to ponzi schemes and other scams, and knew or should have known that their company was being used by fraudsters to fleece unsuspecting retirees.  After working its way through several courts, including a court of appeal, the case was finally dismissed in late 2015.

Update on lawsuit against Equity Trust Company.

A lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California was dismissed by the court for failure to state a claim. A court of appeals upheld the dismissal in December, 2015.  Named as a defendant in the lawsuit was IRA custodian Equity Trust Company.

Among the allegations against Equity Trust Company were that they lent an “air of legitimacy” to ponzi schemes and other scams, and knew or should have known that their company was being used by fraudsters to fleece unsuspecting retirees.  After working its way through several courts, including a court of appeal, the case was finally dismissed in late 2015.

Update on lawsuit against New Direction IRA.

A lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California was dismissed by the court for failure to state a claim. A court of appeals upheld the dismissal in December, 2015.  Named as a defendant in the lawsuit was IRA custodian New Direction IRA.

Among the allegations against New Direction IRA were that they lent an “air of legitimacy” to ponzi schemes and other scams, and knew or should have known that their company was being used by fraudsters to fleece unsuspecting retirees.  After working its way through several courts, including a court of appeal, the case was finally dismissed in late 2015.

Update on complaint against the Entrust Group.

A complaint filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California was dismissed by the court for failure to state a claim. A court of appeals upheld the dismissal in December, 2015.  Named as a defendant in the complaint was IRA custodian The Entrust Group.

Among the allegations in the complaint against the Entrust Group were that they lent an “air of legitimacy” to ponzi schemes and other scams, and knew or should have known that their company was being used by fraudsters to fleece unsuspecting retirees.  After working its way through several courts, including a court of appeal, the case was finally dismissed in late 2015.