If you have noticed unusual activity in your investment account, a Las Vegas investment fraud lawyer can determine if you have a case.
Las Vegas securities attorneys evaluate fraud claims through structured case evaluations, reviewing your records for signs of misconduct and comparing investment performance with your broker’s claims.
Investment fraud may leave you unsure of how to approach recovery. At Kurta Law, we take the burden of pursuing damages off of our clients, representing them in FINRA arbitration and advocating for their interests.
Our Las Vegas securities lawyers provide no-cost structured case evaluations and can help you determine your next steps.
How Las Vegas Investment Fraud Lawyers Identify Misconduct
When Las Vegas securities attorneys evaluate an investment fraud claim, they look for patterns of suspicious activity that can indicate violations of FINRA Rules or other securities regulations. Major red flags of investment fraud include:
- Significant investment underperformance
- Recommendations of risky, illiquid, or high-cost investments
- High trading fees and commissions compared to account value
- Broker communications that omit facts or make misleading statements
- Unauthorized transactions
- Unapproved changes to your profile information, e.g., risk tolerance or liquidity needs
Las Vegas investment fraud attorneys closely examine your account documentation, including trading records, communications between you and your broker, marketing materials, and other documents for signs of misconduct.
The evidence they gather can be used to support a claim in FINRA arbitration and be sent to state regulators for further investigation.
Common Fraudulent Schemes
Some brokers may use their knowledge and experience in the financial industry to manipulate and exploit investors through complex schemes. Las Vegas investment fraud attorneys know how these investment scams work, and can trace the evidence in your account records.
Investors should be aware of some common fraudulent schemes:
Pump and Dump Schemes
In a pump and dump scheme, the value of an investment is artificially inflated by using high-pressure sales tactics to sell it to investors. Investors buy into a hyped-up investment, causing its value to skyrocket.
The fraudsters cash out when the value is high, flooding the market with shares and leaving investors stuck with worthless stocks.
While penny stocks are the classical target for a pump and dump scheme, cryptocurrencies and related investments have been the subject of many of these schemes in recent years.
Pyramid Schemes
One of the most well-known types of fraud, pyramid schemes often promise high returns from small investments and encourage investors to recruit their friends and family.
Fraudsters use the funds generated from fresh investors to cover up the fact that earlier participants’ “investments” don’t actually exist. Pyramid schemes inevitably collapse, enriching a few people at the top and financially devastating investors at the bottom.
Insider Trading
Insider trading occurs when financial professionals use non-public information to inform their trading decisions. For example, a broker might receive access to a company’s non-public internal financial reports, and decide to buy or sell shares based on information other investors don’t have.
Investors’ portfolios can suffer when insiders manipulate financial markets in their favor and take advantage of non-public information.
Case Evaluations by Las Vegas Investment Fraud Lawyers
Because fraud encompasses many types of misconduct, investors may not recognize the signs and effects of investment fraud for months or years. Las Vegas securities lawyers trace patterns of broker misconduct across your documentation to build a strong case that shows how regulatory violations caused your losses.
If you have an investment fraud claim, the Las Vegas securities attorneys at Kurta Law can help. Some of the allegations we investigate include:
- Breach of Contract
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty
- Boiler Rooms
- Cherry-Picking
- Churning or Excessive Trading
- Elder Financial Abuse
- Excessive Commissions
- Failure to Execute
- Failure to Supervise
- Forgery
- Hedge Fund Fraud
- Insider Trading
- Margin Accounts and Margin Calls
- Misrepresentation and Omission
- Mutual Fund Fraud
- Stockbroker Negligence
- Overconcentration (Failure to Diversify)
- Ponzi Schemes
- Pump and Dump Schemes
- Pyramid Schemes
- Selling Away
- Stockbroker Loans
- Theft/Conversion
- Stock Market Manipulation
- Unauthorized Trading
- Unsuitable Investments
- Violation of Blue Sky Laws
Las Vegas investment fraud lawyers also look for evidence of supervisory failures. Brokerage firms have an obligation to create systems of supervision over their representatives to ensure their compliance with securities laws and regulations.
If firms fail to supervise their brokers, they can be held liable for the financial harm that results from those representatives’ misconduct.
How to Recover Damages Following Investment Fraud
When you sign your account opening documents, you may be agreeing to take any disputes with your broker to FINRA arbitration.
FINRA arbitration typically resolves investors’ claims in 12 to 18 months, making it a generally quicker process than a civil proceeding. It provides the opportunity to make your case to a panel of arbitrators chosen by you and the other party.
Las Vegas securities lawyers can help you throughout the arbitration process. They can ensure you file your claim correctly, exchange documents with the firm, and select expert witnesses to provide analysis for the panel.
Following your hearing, the arbitrators will issue an award. This legally binding and enforceable decision typically awards damages to the investor. These may be based on your out-of-pocket losses, interest, and other damage models.
If the firm makes a settlement offer during arbitration, your Las Vegas investment fraud attorney can evaluate how it addresses the financial harm outlined in your claim.
Other Resources for Investors
Las Vegas investors can take advantage of several key resources for investigating their financial professionals and the products they recommend.
Investors can look up the BrokerCheck profile for their broker to learn about their registration and certifications. FINRA maintains this database so investors can educate themselves about past disputes filed against their broker, as well as administrative actions, civil and criminal actions, and other information.
The SEC provides the same disclosures on registered investment advisors in the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database (IAPD). You can also access pages on brokerage and investment advisory firms through BrokerCheck and IAPD, including accessing your firm’s Customer Relationship Summary (Form CRS).
For other financial professionals, you can do your research through other industry-specific resources collected by FINRA.
Las Vegas And Other Areas We Serve
Kurta Law helps investors in and around Las Vegas, including the following communities:
- Spring Valley
- Henderson
- Enterprise
- Paradise
- Summerlin South
- North Las Vegas
- Sunrise Manor
- Winchester
- Boulder City
For a list of the other Nevada locations our Las Vegas securities attorneys serve, visit our (Nevada page /nevada-investment-fraud-lawyer/).
Talk to a Las Vegas Investment Fraud Lawyer
If you suspect your broker recommended an investment that doesn’t align with your objectives, reach out to the Las Vegas securities lawyers at Kurta Law.
We help investors with claims of misrepresentation, excessive trading, and other allegations of investment fraud. Our Las Vegas investment fraud attorneys rigorously pursue recovery on behalf of our clients in FINRA arbitration.
Contact Kurta Law for a free structured case evaluation and learn how you can recover your losses.