In an article from InvestmentNews.com, June 7, 2011, Bruce Kelly writes that the litigation stemming from a series of oil and gas private placements that failed two years ago have now ensnared a giant in the clearing and custody business, National Financial Services LLC, a unit of Fidelity Investments.

The trustee overseeing the liquidation of assets of Provident Royalties LLC, which the Securities and Exchange Commission charged with fraud in 2009, last month requested that a federal judge in Dallas issue a subpoena to National Financial. In the court filing, the trustee wants access to retirement account documents of clients of four broker-dealers that sold preferred stock of Provident and used National Financial as a clearing firm.

Bruce Kelly writes that dozens of broker-dealers sold the Provident offerings from September 2006 to January 2009, raising $485 million. Regarding National Financial records, the trustee wants documents of 579 clients who bought $39.1 million of Provident from four firms: J.P. Turner & Co. LLC, Milkie/Ferguson Investments Inc.,National Securities Corp. and Securities America, Inc.

A spokesman for National Financial, said the firm typically does not comment on matters involving its correspondent clearing, broker-dealer clients. Clearing firms do not sell securities but rather hold them for broker-dealers and their clients.

The InvestmentNews.com article goes on to say that calling Provident a “massive Ponzi scheme,” the trustee claimed that the “trustee is entitled to information concerning the relationship between the broker-dealers and their respective clearing houses, and how those funds were transferred, paid for and accounted for by the clearing houses,” the court filing stated.

“As custodial fiduciary, [National Financial] should have agreements with the various broker-dealers they did business with and records for every dollar that went through their controlled account,” according to the filing.

Last year the trustee sued dozens of broker-dealers to claw back revenue and commissions from the sale of Provident.

If you feel you have been an alleged victim of these or other broker-dealers and were sold Provident Royalties private placements, call a Securities Arbitration Lawyer for a free consultation on how to potentially recover your losses.  To speak with an attorney, call 888-760-6552, or visit www.stockmarketlawsuit.com.

Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA  the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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The recent credit crisis and the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market has led to the collapse of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two of the largest issuers of preferred stock. Wall Street has underwritten much of this debt and dumped it on investors looking for income-generating investments that were low risk.  Millions of investors have seen their portfolios and retirement accounts devastated by the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which many believe should never have happened. 

Over the past 70 years or so, Fannie and Freddie guaranteed close to 90% of all new home mortgages in the United States. Today, Fannie and Freddie are under conservatorship – a move that’s costing taxpayers more than $150 billion.

There were thousands of investors who purchased preferred shares in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock. In 2007 and 2008, investment firms like UBS, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and others sold billions of dollars of preferred stock issued by the two mortgage lenders. In numerous lawsuits that have followed, investors allege that they never knew about their declining investments in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae – a decline that was brought about by the two companies’ risky lending, excessive leverage and investments in bad derivative products.

Investors were led to believe these stocks were “conservative” and would provide steady income through above-average dividends.  Also, investors were told that the Federal Government would assure that their investments were safe.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed in conservatorship by the federal government, and investors with preferred shares watched their portfolios become worthless.

If you feel you or a family member were misled about Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac preferred shares, call a Securities Arbitration Lawyer for a free consultation on how to recover your investment losses.  To speak with an attorney, call 888-760-6552, or visit www.stockmarketlawsuit.com. Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA  the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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