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Rhode Island Investment Fraud Lawyers

Malecki Law’s investment fraud lawyers are alerting Rhode Island retirees and investors that they should be on alert for Ponzi schemers and fraudsters, who are always lurking. Securities fraud can happen to anyone, even investors who are knowledgeable about the financial markets. Fraudsters can often go undetected in their crimes by finding legitimate cover as financial advisors within larger financial institutions. Financial investment firms have a duty to supervise their employees, even for outside business activities conducted away from their workplace. Ponzi schemers often turn out to be financial advisors at brokerage or investment advisory firms who are selling fake investments away from the accounts at their firm. Meanwhile, trusting investors of the firm are led to believe that the firm is dutifully watching over, which is not necessarily the case.

Rhode Island’s Department of Business Regulation Securities Division listed its “Top Investor Threats for 2021,” which included a forecast of “a continued effort by bad actors trying to swindle investors, leveraging the fear and anxiety related to changes in both the financial market and the economy due to COVID-19 by illegally selling securities.” The Securities Division’s Chief of Securities, Donald DeFedele, added that bad actors often try to lure in investors with the promises of high returns, but that if the offer sounds too good to be true, then further scrutiny is needed:

“The most indicative sign of an investment scam is an offer of guaranteed high returns with no risk. All investments carry a risk that some, or all, of the invested funds could be lost. ‘Anyone who says their investment offer has no risk is not being honest,’ Mr. DeFedele said. ‘Investing is a long term proposition. Get-rich schemes are built on empty promises and empty pockets.’ Mr. DeFedele recommends that investors should always ask if the salesperson and the investment itself are properly licensed or registered. This information can be easily confirmed by state and provincial securities regulators. ‘Working with a properly licensed investment professional affords investors certain legal protections,’ he said. ‘Offering to sell an investment without a license is against the law.’”

While Rhode Island’s Securities Division continues to bring enforcement actions against well-known firms like LPL Financial and Morgan Stanley for supervision failures and other securities violations, investors who have suffered losses from scammers and Ponzi schemers cannot always rely on being made whole by long regulatory investigations, which are opaque and difficult to know how they’re progressing. While regulatory investigators usually seek documents and cooperation from investor victims, they typically do not share documents in return regarding other investors who may have suffered similar losses.

Regulatory investigations also do not always seek to prosecute the full time period of the violations that occurred, meaning victims expecting restitution may only receive a small fraction of their losses, even after years of investigation. This is why it is critical for investors who have been victimized to additionally seek counsel from securities fraud attorneys and an experienced investment loss recovery law firm to consider pursuing a parallel civil lawsuit against the financial institution. In FINRA arbitration, investors can expect their cases to be resolved within 12 to 15 months depending on the availability of arbitrators and the parties’ counsel. Elderly and disabled investors may also qualify for expedited proceedings, which can bring a resolution several months faster. This is far faster than what you can expect from a regulatory proceeding, which some cases may never reach a conclusion.

Malecki Law is a national securities fraud law firm that has recovered tens of millions of dollars for investors from large financial firms, including LPL and Morgan Stanley. Hiring knowledgeable, investment loss recovery lawyers is the first step towards recovering investment money lost to negligent firm supervision or other misconduct. If you are a Rhode Island resident who has lost money in the financial markets and would like a free consultation about whether your account was properly managed, contact the investment fraud lawyers at Malecki Law.

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Testimonials From Former Clients
★★★★★
I highly recommend Jenice and her team at Malecki Law. I had a challenging, and lengthly case. Jenice was professional, very knowledgeable, and a pleasure to work with. She managed to make the process far less stressful during a very difficult time. They care about their clients, and it definitely shows. Mario
★★★★★
Jenice is truly a miracle worker and one of the top securities lawyers. She handled a very difficult case for us, displaying her legal knowledge, intelligence, and savviness throughout the process. I cannot recommend her enough. The quality of work from her team rivals that of corporate law firms. She was always available, extremely professional, and made sure to know all the details of the case. We were very fortunate to have been referred to Jenice and highly recommend her for any securities related legal issues. Nathan A.
★★★★★
An excellent professional who represented us in trial regarding a bank fraud, an unexpected and difficult time. A professional that worked hard, persevering and who stood toe to toe against firms that had a team of excellent lawyers backing them up. Her unflinching determination really stands out, it makes you feel you have someone who really cares about trying to recover what you lost from the people that wronged you. Salomon Levi
★★★★★
It is difficult to thank you in words when gratitude comes from the heart, so I will try to link feelings with writing. It is essential for us to mention your excellence as a professional, your aptitude on legal fields, and your unavoidable persistence. All of these virtues that elevate the profession you exercise in such an admirable way, go hand in hand with your sense of ethics, your human warmth and the transparency in your actions. To sum up, thank you for being a listening ear and for having the right word while transmitting information about the legal process. Having you as our representative during such an adverse situation was a privilege and enough reason for our eternal gratitude. Angeles Aparain
★★★★★
To say that my securities litigation was complex would be a severe understatement. With multiple parties involved and spanning many years, trying to understand the issues was daunting to say the least. Jenice and her team broke down the transactions by segment and by party uncovering every hidden expense. In the end, I was more than happy and could not thank Jenice and her team enough. I would not hesitate to recommend Jenice to anyone. She is highly professional, incredibly knowledgeable, well connected to industry experts, has a tireless work ethic and is so pleasant and easy to communicate with. Five stars for sure! Andrew Loughrane