Goodman & Nekvasil P.A., May Recover Investor Losses on Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Funds – Christopher Todd Wendel (Chris Wendel) Financial Advisor, Fired by SA Stone Wealth Management Inc.
From 2014 until Chris Wendel’s firing in 2017, Chris Wendel was licensed with SA Stone Wealth Management Inc. According to FINRA’s records, Chris Wendel was fired by SA Stone Wealth Management Inc. on September 5, 2017. SA Stone Wealth Management Inc. reported to FINRA that Chris Wendel violated firm policy regarding selling away. Subsequent to his firing, FINRA reports Chris Wendel was barred from the securities and investment banking industry on June 1, 2018. Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A. has learned that Chris Wendel sold the fraudulent Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund.
On December 20, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an action alleging that the Woodbridge investment was a massive Ponzi scheme, and that new investor money was used to pay the returns owed to existing investors. The SEC also alleges that Woodbridge’s business model was a sham, and that Woodbridge and Woodbridge’s owner and President, Robert H. Shapiro, misused and misappropriated investor monies. The SEC points out that Woodbridge admits in its bankruptcy filing that it has less than $12 million in its bank accounts while having investor liabilities approaching $1 billion.
The SEC also alleges that many of the properties Woodbridge purchased remain as vacant lots that have set undeveloped for several years. According to the SEC, nearly all of the purported third-party borrowers were actually limited liability companies owned and controlled by Woodbridge, which had no revenue, no bank accounts and never paid any interest under the loans.
FINRA reports that an arbitration claim involving Chris Wendel’s conduct with a prior employer, WRP Investments, Inc. was filed, alleging unsuitable investments. This arbitration claim was settled for $90,000, with Chris Wendel paying the entirety of this settlement.
FINRA also reports that two previous complaints involving Chris Wendel’s conduct with a prior employer were settled for $200,000 and $130,936.88.
If you invested in the Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Funds through Chris Wendel, you may be able to recover your losses from SA Stone Wealth Management Inc. This is because SA Stone Wealth Management Inc. had a duty to supervise Chris Wendel.
If you invested in the Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Funds through Chris Wendel, we would like to discuss the possibility of your retaining our firm to represent you in an arbitration action against SA Stone Wealth Management, Inc. concerning Chris Wendel’s conduct. There is no charge for an evaluation of your case. Further, we handle our cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that unless we recover money for you, we charge no attorney’s fee. Unless you recover any money, you pay us nothing, not even the costs and expenses which the firm will advance on your behalf. You will continue to own your claim in the Woodbridge Bankruptcy; our case involves a separate, additional avenue of recovery.
Kalju Nekvasil, Esq., formerly regional counsel with the NASD, now known as FINRA, has practiced in this area of the law for more than 35 years. Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A. has recovered more than $170 million on behalf of victimized investors. If you lost money on investments with Chris Wendel including promissory notes and would like your case evaluated by a securities attorney (again, there is no charge for an evaluation and all cases are handled on a purely contingency fee basis), please contact us.
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