Articles Posted in News

The Law Office of David Liebrader is pleased to report $5.3 million in recent judgments and settlements against cannabis industry companies.

With the growth of the legal cannabis industry, unscrupulous operators and scam artists have been plying their trade, luring in unsuspecting investors with promises of outsized returns.

One case involves a $1.8 million judgment obtained in the Monterey County Superior Court against Zabala Farms of Salinas; a mid-size grow operation.  The Plaintiff had invested in a Zabala affiliate that sold unregistered securities.  The State of California issued a cease and desist order against the subsidiary, which was followed by an administrative action filed by the SEC. The investor was able to use the findings to obtain two judgments, one against the affiliate, and later, a judgment against Zabala Farms of Salinas in the Monterey Superior Court.

EB-5 Fraud is on the rise.  From immigration attorneys acting as unregistered broker-dealers to scammers preying on unsuspecting investors the field is a potential trap for the unwary.

In 1990 the US Congress devised the Immigration Investment Program in the hopes of attracting capital to the US from foreign investors.  The program came to be known as the EB-5 program.  As a means to attract investments Congress offered the potential for Visas, “Green Cards” and residency status to foreigners who agreed to invest at least a million dollars into a business that agreed to employ or continued to employ at least ten full time US workers.  The EB-5 program also provided that a $500,000 investment in a “rural area” or an area of “high unemployment” would qualify.

As a result, investments grew around so called “Regional Center Investments” such as hotels, business parks, warehouses or other “economic units” that offered the prospects for job growth.

Vincent Mehdizadeh agrees to a ban, and a $12 million fine to settle SEC charges related to Medbox.

In March, 2017 entrepreneur Vincent Mehdizadeh agreed to settle charges brought by the SEC against him and his company Medbox, a legal Marijuana consulting company (now known as Notis Global- ticker symbol NGBL).

According to the complaint filed by the SEC, Mehdizadeh mistated Medbox’s revenues and used sham transactions to give the appearance that the company was profitable.  According to the complaint 90% of Medbox’s revenues came from transactions in a company created by Mehdizadeh, and not from legitimate business generated by Medbox. Instead of record revenue, as was claimed, Medbox used a shell company formed by Mehdizadeh to sell company stock, then claimed the proceeds as revenue for Medbox.

Corecap Investments was named as a broker dealer that employs a large percentage of registered reps with publicly disclosable incidents.

A study commissioned by Reuters with the assistance of Columbia University Law School identified nearly fifty FINRA registered broker dealers where a large percentage of its brokers had “red flags” on their public disclosures.  FINRA requires broker dealers like Corecap Investments, as well as its registered representatives to update their industry record by disclosing information that could be of interest to potential and current customers and members of the public.

These red flags include customer disputes, arbitration claims, regulatory actions taken by FINRA, the SEC or state regulators, civil actions, bankruptcies and terminations after allegations of wrongdoing.

Concorde Investment Services was named as a broker dealer that employs a large percentage of registered reps with publicly disclosable incidents.

A study commissioned by Reuters with the assistance of Columbia University Law School identified nearly fifty FINRA registered broker dealers where a large percentage of its brokers had “red flags” on their public disclosures.  FINRA requires broker dealers like Concorde Investment Services, as well as its registered representatives to update their industry record by disclosing information that could be of interest to potential and current customers and members of the public.

These red flags include customer disputes, arbitration claims, regulatory actions taken by FINRA, the SEC or state regulators, civil actions, bankruptcies and terminations after allegations of wrongdoing.

Silber Bennett Financial was named as a broker dealer that employs a large percentage of registered reps with publicly disclosable incidents.

A study commissioned by Reuters with the assistance of Columbia University Law School identified nearly fifty FINRA registered broker dealers where a large percentage of its brokers had “red flags” on their public disclosures.  FINRA requires broker dealers like Silber Bennett Financial, as well as its registered representatives to update their industry record by disclosing information that could be of interest to potential and current customers and members of the public.

These red flags include customer disputes, arbitration claims, regulatory actions taken by FINRA, the SEC or state regulators, civil actions, bankruptcies and terminations after allegations of wrongdoing.

Great Nation Investment Corporation was named as a broker dealer that employs a large percentage of registered reps with publicly disclosable incidents.

A study commissioned by Reuters with the assistance of Columbia University Law School identified nearly fifty FINRA registered broker dealers where a large percentage of its brokers had “red flags” on their public disclosures.  FINRA requires broker dealers like Great Nation Investment Corporation, as well as its registered representatives to update their industry record by disclosing information that could be of interest to potential and current customers and members of the public.

These red flags include customer disputes, arbitration claims, regulatory actions taken by FINRA, the SEC or state regulators, civil actions, bankruptcies and terminations after allegations of wrongdoing.

BB Graham Company was named as a broker dealer that employs a large percentage of registered reps with publicly disclosable incidents.

A study commissioned by Reuters with the assistance of Columbia University Law School identified nearly fifty FINRA registered broker dealers where a large percentage of its brokers had “red flags” on their public disclosures.  FINRA requires broker dealers like BB Graham Company, as well as its registered representatives to update their industry record by disclosing information that could be of interest to potential and current customers and members of the public.

These red flags include customer disputes, arbitration claims, regulatory actions taken by FINRA, the SEC or state regulators, civil actions, bankruptcies and terminations after allegations of wrongdoing.