ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Unraveling The Woodbridge Ponzi Scheme
Former CEO To Pay $120 Million Fine
Robert Shapiro, former chief executive officer of the Woodbridge Group of Companies, has reportedly agreed to pay $120 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle allegations he defrauded investors in a massive $1.2 billion real estate Ponzi scheme.[1] Shapiro and his subordinates reportedly promised investors returns of 10% earned on “hard money” loans to real estate developers said to be flipping luxury real estate for big gains. In fact those loans were only extended to shell companies controlled by Shapiro that had no cash flows to repay the loans. Investors’ funds were used to repay earlier investors and to pay for charter jets, country club dues, and luxury items for Shapiro and his cronies.
The California securities fraud attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent victims of fraudulent Ponzi schemes, pump and dump runs, phony investment opportunities, unregistered offerings, insider trading, and other types of securities fraud here in California. When the victims are seniors, the fraud constitutes State and federal securities law violations and violations of elder abuse protections. If you or a loved one has been the victim of securities fraud or financial elder abuse in California, call our elder abuse and securities fraud lawyers today at (415)441-8669. If you’ve been wronged, we will pursue all remedies including restitution (getting your money back), rescission (undoing an invalid contract), extra damages, and recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs in bringing a financial elder abuse action.
Woodbridge is currently liquidating its business in bankruptcy court. The SEC is pursuing a total of $892 million from defendants to create a fund to compensate investors. Investors who have lost money in Woodbridge Wealth or in any of the Woodbridge Mortgage Funds may be able to pursue recovery of their losses through securities litigation or arbitration. Units in the Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Funds and Woodbridge’s “First Position Commercial Mortgages” (FPCMs) qualify as securities under State and federal regulations but were not registered as securities as required by law, and in many instances were sold by unregistered, unlicensed persons.
Investors in the following Woodbridge entities and funds may have claims:
- Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund 1, LLC
- Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund 2, LLC
- Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund 3, LLC
- WMF Management, LLC
- Woodbridge Group of Companies, LLC, DBA Woodbridge Wealth
Contact Us
If you have been defrauded by a broker or advisor through securities fraud or financial elder abuse including investments in any Woodbridge Mortgage Fund, call Ingrid M. Evans and the other San Francisco and California securities fraud and financial elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with securities, annuity, and other investment fraud, financial elder abuse cases and complex qui tam or whistleblower cases including offshore tax avoidance cases, complex financial contract cases and cases against large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical elder abuse, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
