Former CEO of Technology Company Charged With Raising $123 Million in Fraudulent Offerings

Investor Alerts Attorney Jared Levy September 24, 2020

The Business Trial Group’s securities attorneys are investigating an alleged fraudulent scheme that enabled a company called NS8, Inc. to raise about $123 million from investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed an emergency action against Adam Rogas, former CEO of NS8. According to the SEC, NS8 is a Las Vegas company that provides e-commerce merchants with fraud detection and prevention software. The SEC alleges that Rogas, in connection with at least two securities offerings, falsely claimed NS8 had collected millions of dollars in revenues.

Specifically, the SEC alleges that from 2018 to mid 2020, Rogas changed NS8’s bank statements to falsely show millions of dollars in customer payments. According to the SEC’s complaint, Rogas sent the fraudulent bank statements to NS8’s finance department, which used them to prepare NS8’s financial statements. The SEC alleges that NS8 and Rogas gave the false financial statements to investors and prospective investors, enabling NS8 to raise over $120 million. Rogas allegedly kept over $17 million of investor moneys for himself.

Kurt L. Gottschall, Director of the SEC’s Denver Regional Office, stated: “As alleged in our complaint, Rogas falsely presented NS8 as a successful business by fabricating revenue figures and providing them to investors. Investors are entitled to accurate information about a company’s financial condition and the SEC is committed to holding accountable corporate executives who deceive investors.”

The SEC filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charging Rogas with violating federal securities laws’ anti-fraud provisions.

If you have suffered losses relating to an investment in NS8, we are here to help. Contact us at 888-343-8073 to speak with an experienced securities attorney at Morgan & Morgan’s Business Trial Group.

The Business Trial Group at Morgan & Morgan helps investors recover their losses on a contingency basis. We are only paid if we successfully recover money for you. We have helped investors recover tens of millions of dollars of investment losses.

The Business Trial Group is part of the largest contingency law firm in the nation, with over 550 lawyers and 50 offices.

Investment Adviser Ordered to Pay Civil Penalty for Defrauding Elderly Client

Investor Alerts Attorney Jared Levy September 15, 2020

A Colorado federal court recently entered a consent judgment against investment adviser Steven Rodemer relating to his alleged misappropriation of over $450,000 from an elderly client.

The SEC alleged that Rodemer was an investment adviser to an elderly, widowed client. According to the SEC’s complaint, Rodemer used his power of attorney over the client’s assets to write checks to himself and to his bank. Some of the checks allegedly also were used to cover expenses for his vacation home.

Rodemer also allegedly utilized the client’s debit/credit card to cover personal expenses and make ATM withdrawals, and paid his personal credit card bills from the client’s bank account. The SEC alleged that the client did not authorize any of these transactions, which totaled $451.889. The final judgment orders Rodemer to pay a civil penalty totaling $385,536.

Florida law prohibits exploitation of an elderly client, and victims may be entitled to treble damages (i.e., three times the amount of their damages) and attorney fees. If an investment advisor or stockbroker has abused their position of trust to take advantage of an elderly person, the securities attorneys at Morgan & Morgan’s Business Trial Group are here to help. Please contact us for a free case evaluation.

The Business Trial Group is part of the largest contingency law firm in the nation, with more than 550 lawyers and 50 offices. We have helped investors recover investment losses totaling tens of millions of dollars. We are only paid if we successfully recover money for you.

Recovery of Investment Losses in AllianzGI’s Structured Alpha Funds

Investor Alerts Attorney Jared Levy September 10, 2020

Morgan & Morgan’s securities attorneys are investigating claims involving losses in AllianzGI’s “Structured Alpha” funds.

Many of the Structured Alpha funds have suffered catastrophic losses this year, according to reports. AllianzGI has been accused of failing to use appropriate risk controls and hedging strategies to protect investors, even though AllianzGI touted the Structured Alpha funds’ ability to endure extreme market volatility.

For example, the offering documents for AllianzGI’s Structured Alpha US Equity 500 hedge fund state that the fund’s investment strategy was “designed to outperform whether equity markets are up or down, smooth or volatile.” In early 2020, AllianzGI allegedly told investors the fund was positioned well if an extreme correction occurred or volatility spiked, according to reports.

But when equity markets crashed in February and March, AllianzGI allegedly failed to properly re-balance or hedge positions. It also allegedly failed to reduce leverage.

AllianzGI’s failure to protect investors allegedly may have been due to the fund’s fee structure, as AllianzGI only earned fees if the fund out-performed the S&P 500. AllianzGI allegedly could have protected investors against a market correction earlier this year, but would have had to lock in small losses to do so. Incurring losses, however, may have meant that AllianzGI would not have been entitled to fees. So instead of paying for protective measures, AllianzGI allegedly crossed its fingers that markets would simply turn in the fund’s favor without having to pay for measures to reduce risk exposure.

AllianzGI’s alleged failure to take protective measures left the fund exposed to catastrophic losses. By late March, the fund allegedly had incurred losses of more than 75%, totaling over $900 million.

AllianzGI’s parent company, Allianz SE, recently disclosed that the SEC has sent an information request regarding the Structured Alpha funds.

If you have suffered losses relating to AllianzGI’s Structured Alpha funds, we are here to help. Our experienced securities attorneys in the Business Trial Group have helped investors recover tens of millions of dollars of investment losses.

Morgan & Morgan’s Business Trial Group helps investors recover their losses on a contingency basis. We are only paid if we successfully recover money for you. The Business Trial Group is part of the largest contingency law firm in the nation, with over 550 lawyers and 50 offices.

Business Trial Group Investigates $24M Ponzi Scheme Targeting African Immigrants

Investor Alerts Attorney Jared Levy September 8, 2020

The Business Trial Group is investigating an alleged $27 million fraudulent scheme that The Smart Partners LLC and 1st Million LLC perpetrated against more than 1,000 investors, most of whom were African immigrants. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged Smart Partners, 1st Million, and their principals (Dennis Jali, John Frimpong, and Arley Johnson) with violations of federal securities laws for operating an alleged Ponzi scheme.

According to the SEC’s complaint, the defendants touted risk-free investment returns ranging from 6 percent to 42 percent. They also misrepresented that they utilized licensed traders for foreign-exchange and cryptocurrency trading, the SEC alleges.

The SEC alleges that the defendants engaged in an affinity scheme by targeting African immigrants and emphasizing their common ancestry and religious affiliations to gain their trust. According to the SEC, one of the principals, Dennis Jali, told investors that he is a pastor, a self-made millionaire, and expert trader. He even rented office space to make it appear that his companies were legitimate, the SEC says.

However, as the SEC alleges, Jali and his companies were not legitimate. The defendants used investor moneys to fund their personal lifestyles and to pay earlier investors in a Ponzi-like fashion, according to the SEC.

According to Kelly L. Gibson, director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office, the defendants exploited religious affiliations and cultural affinities to gain investors’ trust.

“We encourage all investors to be on high alert whenever they are offered investments promising low risk and guaranteed returns, including from members of a trusted community,” Gibson said in a statement.

The SEC has charged the defendants with violating anti-fraud securities laws and seeks the return of investor moneys, injunctive relief, and civil penalties. The SEC also charged Access2Assets as a relief defendant, seeking the return of moneys from the alleged Ponzi scheme. In addition to the SEC’s action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland has filed criminal charges and the CFTC has filed a civil action.

If you have suffered losses relating to the alleged affinity-based scheme perpetrated by Smart Partners and 1st Million or a similar scheme, we are here to help. Contact the Business Trial Group for a free case evaluation. Our experienced attorneys have helped investors recover tens of millions of dollars of investment losses.

As part of the largest contingency law firm in the nation, the Business Trial Group is only paid if we successfully recover money for you.