Securities and Commodities

Fraud in the sale of securities is misstatements or omissions of a company’s stock or other means. There is a variety of laws which prohibit fraudulent practices in the sales of securities and commodities. However, the laws are often not enough and misrepresentations commonly occur. Misrepresentations lead to significant harm and create an unlawful and unsafe environment for investors. This type of deception is common both in public and non-public companies and the victims span the full spectrum from sophisticated investors to retail investors.

We investigate, and help our sources disclose information about misrepresentation such as:

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• False statements regarding

o Guaranteed returns

o Investment strategy

o Suitability of an investment for a specific investor

o Inflation of a private or public company’s value

o Performance of a key product

o Actual value of key assets

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• Misleading statements regarding

o A security’s historical performance and/or profitability
o Magnitude of actual losses
o Intended use of investor funds
o Omissions in offerings for complex financial products

• Unlawful

o Ponzi schemes
o Pyramid schemes

• Manipulation of

o Dealer markups in offering prices
o Reporting of benchmark rates