Securities Fraud Lawyer Blog
On June 25, 2015, the SEC charged Malcolm Segal with conducting a Ponzi scheme and stealing investor money to purchase a condominium in Florida, and pay for vacations and other luxuries.
The SEC alleges that former Aegis Capital Corp. stockbroker Malcolm Segal fraudulently sold certificates of deposits (CDs) to his customers by falsely claiming that he could get them higher interest rates than otherwise available to the general public. Malcolm Segal purchased CDs on behalf of investors but secretly redeemed them early and took the proceeds. Other times, Segal did not purchase CDs at all.
Malcolm Segal raised over $15,000,000 from investors. Besides spending the money on himself, Segal used it in a Ponzi scheme fashion to make interest and principal repayments to earlier investors.
The SEC further alleges that Segal eventually started stealing directly from his customers’ brokerage accounts. He forged documents to facilitate the transfer of customer funds including the signature of one customer’s wife who had died. The ponzi collapsed in July 2014.
The above allegations contained in the SEC’s complaint have not been proven, and the issuance of a complaint represents the SEC’s initiation of a formal proceeding in which findings as to the allegations in the complaint have not been made, and does not represent a decision as to any of the allegations contained in the complaint.
Malcolm Segal registration and disciplinary history
In order to lawfully sell investments to the public, one must either be registered or exempt from registration. Malcolm Segal was registered with
According to FINRA’s CRD disclosure report, Malcolm Segal has been the subject of seven customer complaints and one regulatory investigation.
The Law Office of David Liebrader practices exclusively in the field of investment loss recovery. For the past 23 years, we have dedicated our law practice to assisting investors who have been victims of investment fraud via fraudulent and unsuitable investment transactions. During that time we have recovered money for over one thousand individuals, pension plans, trusts and companies. The recoveries we have obtained via judgments, awards and settlements on behalf of our clients exceed $40,000,000.
When investors contact our firm they can expect prompt attention, and a detailed analysis of their issues. Typical claims that we are asked to review involve “unsuitability (where a financial advisor makes investment recommendations that are inconsistent with a customer’s investment objectives), claims for “churning” (where a broker enters into an excessive number of trades for the purpose of generating commissions), claims involving illiquid investments such as private placements (I.e., real estate investment trusts, limited partnerships, equipment leasing and oil and gas drilling programs) as well as claims for violations of state securities laws, which often provide investors remedies like attorney’s fees and interest, if they are successful on the claim.
Since a Supreme Court ruling in the 1980s, most investment related disputes between brokerage firms and their customers have been filed in an arbitration forum hosted by FINRA Dispute Resolution. FINRA, along with the SEC, serves as a securities industry “watchdog” and regulator. Most brokerage firms require their clients to sign binding arbitration agreements, mandating that any disputes between them be arbitrated at FINRA.
Investors pursuing claims at FINRA typically advance claims related to suitability. FINRA rules require that all registered representatives make suitable investment recommendations to their clients. Other claims are based on negligence or breach of fiduciary duty, while another category includes claims based on misrepresentations and fraud. Most claims filed with FINRA are resolved within 15 months, and oftentimes, the cases are resolved via settlement or mediation in under a year.
FINRA’s rules require that all investment recommendations made by licensed financial advisors be suitable in light of a customer’s needs, objectives and risk tolerance. In addition, all registered representatives are required to be properly supervised, with periodic inspections and reviews by qualified supervisors, whose job it is to vigorously investigate suspicions of wrongdoing (red flags).
If you suspect that you have been the victim of investment fraud, or had a financial advisor recommend unsuitable investments to you, call us today for a free, confidential consultation at (702) 380-3131.