[Plinker]

Originally Posted by SallyB

Thank you for the information will be showing my parents. I wonder just how many Villagers were taken by him and GWG.

He is not the only “financial advisor” that has sold this product. Here is a website from an attorney seeking people who have had dealings with the holding company you describe.

Mark Cline Allegedly Recommended GWG L Bonds -

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by ton80

If you go FINRA Broker Check you will find that Michael Whitaker has 3 disclosures against him. Two are unresolved "Breach of Fiduciary Duty" for 100,000 and 232,000 $. This suggests that he is supposed to act as a Fiduciary but the resolution is taking a very long time. There are no other details shown. Good Luck!!

Brokers are required by law to act as a fiduciary when advising clients regarding a retirement account, but not about a non-retirement account. Most brokers, who sell risky investments, try to avoid the fiduciary responsibility if they can.

[spinner1001]

Originally Posted by Babubhat

Oral representations have little to no value in court. Call a few securities attorneys for a free case evaluation. I suspect the numbers may not be enough to interest them

You could search online for the names of (Florida) lawyers representing clients filing lawsuits against the broker and his brokerage firm and then contact one or more of those lawyers to discuss options. Searching will take some effort. Those legal actions could take place in a state court of law or a FINRA arbitration action. State courts have more information available to the public compared to the private FINRA actions.

The ‘attorney of record’ is listed in online public court files in Florida cases if you can find the cases. In Florida state trial courts, the databases are at the county level. This means you make have to search online using each county’s court records (e.g., Sumter, Lake, Marion). A place to start is searching on the name of the broker and his brokerage firm as defendant.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by spinner1001

I’m calling BS.

Legal duties of brokers are mainly established under state laws. Lawsuits against brokers by their investment clients for breach of fiduciary duty seeking damages are filed in state courts, and not in Federal courts.

The requirement to act as a fiduciary when giving advice for retirement accounts is a Federal law. It doesn't apply to non-retirement accounts.

[spinner1001]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

The requirement to act as a fiduciary when giving advice for retirement accounts is a Federal law. It doesn't apply to non-retirement accounts.

Straw man, now.

OP did not say anything about a retirement account. If not a retirement account, then Federal ERISA law does not apply.

[fgaba1949]

Originally Posted by Bilyclub

We almost signed up with them, but got bad vibes when they started to push us into creating all sorts of accounts without any specific things to invest in.

Iam constantly amazed at some of the purchases of our Village people ! I cant tell you how many people lost huge amounts of money using a paid financial advisors and held TECH through a rising fed rate environment ..and financial advisor would know that a mutual fund full of tech would plunge when the fed was raising interest rates,,,as tech stocks are highly leveraged

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by fgaba1949

Iam constantly amazed at some of the purchases of our Village people ! I cant tell you how many people lost huge amounts of money using a paid financial advisors and held TECH through a rising fed rate environment ..and financial advisor would know that a mutual fund full of tech would plunge when the fed was raising interest rates,,,as tech stocks are highly leveraged

I agree about financial advisors. For most investors, advisors don't add much value to investing. They get away with it because many of their clients don't hold the advisor accountable for the performace of their advice. Often, advisors cannot outperform a simple index mutual fund.

[danglanzsr]

I am an investor with Whitaker. GWG is in Chapter 11 reorganization (Southern District of Texas, cases 22-90032 and 22-90033) The L bonds have priority in the bankruptcy case and there is a high likelihood that the bonds will be paid since QWG has over a billion dollars in assets according to filings in the bankruptcy court. It is premature to claim that L bond investors have lost all their money. Therefore any law suit based on loss from the sale of the bonds would be premature. I am only addressing the GWG claims, not any other grievance others may have against Whitaker

[danglanzsr]

GWG is in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas (Cases 22-90032 and 90033). Until the bankruptcies conclude, no one has lost any money on L bonds. According to filings in the court L bonds have priority over other claims and it is likely they will be paid. Also, they do not mature until 2025 so, at this point, only the interest payments are due. I am a client of Whitaker and a holder of L bonds.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by danglanzsr

I am an investor with Whitaker. GWG is in Chapter 11 reorganization (Southern District of Texas, cases 22-90032 and 22-90033) The L bonds have priority in the bankruptcy case and there is a high likelihood that the bonds will be paid since QWG has over a billion dollars in assets according to filings in the bankruptcy court. It is premature to claim that L bond investors have lost all their money. Therefore any law suit based on loss from the sale of the bonds would be premature. I am only addressing the GWG claims, not any other grievance others may have against Whitaker

Is there any evidence that GWG did anything illegal? Losing investors' money in a high risk investment is not illegal. As long as they acted in accordance with the prospectus, there would be no recourse in a lawsuit.

[Duppman]

Originally Posted by SallyB

Last week while visiting my parents they informed us they lost close to $100,000 with their broker Michael Whitaker. They invested in a very high-risk company GWG which has filed for bankruptcy about a year ago. My parents were told this was not high-risk by Michael Whitaker and GWG at the lunch where they first meet them. Michael has sent numerous emails to my parents over the last year telling to hang in there. They purchased a product call L Bonds which had a hold time for 7 years at that time Michael told them he had close to $10 million of his clients' money in GWG so they thought it must be safe.

I decided to look into GWG and Michael and the information I have found is not promising.

The information I have found says that this "GWG Was a Classic Ponzi Scheme"-Official Committee of Bondholders of GWG Holdings, Inc. The CEO transfer from the bondholders $258 million into his new company Beneficent. It stated that GWG used new bondholder funds to pay their monthly pay outs to existing bondholders for years and they sold over $1 billion in L Bonds.

I also found that the company Michael works for New Bridge Securities is also under investigation over the GWG L Bonds.

I want my parents to call a lawyer, they are hesitant since they have been with Michael for quite some time.

So, my question is for anyone who still works Michael have to file a lawsuit or are you going too. If you did file a lawsuit, what lawyer did you use and were you happy with the results.

I know this is horse already out of the barn but IMO any person/company offering a free lunch is just fishing for business and should be steered clear of. Sorry this is happening to your parents.

[PersonOfInterest]

All Investing carries risk. Those who rely on the knowledge and advise of others to invest increase that risk as well. I have little sympathy for those who use a financial adviser, loose money and then blame the financial advisor. Take responsibility for managing your own money and learn to choose your own investments. If you trust someone's decisions and have a bad outcome, learn the Lesson. Make your own decisions.

[SallyB]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

The requirement to act as a fiduciary when giving advice for retirement accounts is a Federal law. It doesn't apply to non-retirement accounts.

My moms are in her IRA account. They also have the GWG in their trust account.

[SallyB]

Originally Posted by danglanzsr

I am an investor with Whitaker. GWG is in Chapter 11 reorganization (Southern District of Texas, cases 22-90032 and 22-90033) The L bonds have priority in the bankruptcy case and there is a high likelihood that the bonds will be paid since QWG has over a billion dollars in assets according to filings in the bankruptcy court. It is premature to claim that L bond investors have lost all their money. Therefore any law suit based on loss from the sale of the bonds would be premature. I am only addressing the GWG claims, not any other grievance others may have against Whitaker

Thank you for your response. Reading todays update I have very little hope for my parents. GWG has $1.2 Billion in L Bond debt. The life policies they own will not cover the bond debt. Now GWG is looking into Chapter 7 bankruptcy I am not sure what that does to the bondholders. The court again yesterday has not approved GWG plan.
This was a Ponzi scheme everything I have researched doesn't look like the bondholders will come out whole.
My question to my parents is why you trust GWG when we now know they are crooks. Why trust Whitaker when he had no business selling theses risky bonds to seniors.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by SallyB

My moms are in her IRA account. They also have the GWG in their trust account.

Here is a Department of Labor website that explains the fiduciary requirements for retirement accounts.

Fiduciary Responsibilities | U.S. Department of Labor