Securities Fraud Blog | Find out if your broker is liable for your losses

TAG | Provident ponzi scheme

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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