FINRA fined and suspended former Independent Financial Group (IFG of Novato, California) and present Whitehall-Parker Securities (Novato and San Francisco, CA) broker James Marten Lamont for selling nearly $1.5 million-worth of promissory notes related to the Woodbridge Group of Companies, a fraudulent offering previously deemed a $1.2-billion Ponzi scheme by the SEC.
In AWC #2017052705801, FINRA cited Lamont for engaging in unapproved private securities transactions involving the sale of Woodbridge promissory notes totaling $1,467,000, receiving $81,417 in commissions. Lamont (CRD #2846228)'s BrokerCheck report lists a history of settled customer complaints alleging misrepresentation, omission of material fact, breach of contract, negligence, fraud, and unsuitable investments.
We previously wrote that the $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme involving Robert H Shapiro (Sherman Oaks, CA and Aspen, CO)'s Woodbridge Group of Companies victimized more than 8,400 seniors across the country according to estimates that followed up on the widespread fraud perpetuated by brokers who misrepresented the Woodbridge real estate investments, funds, and promissory notes as "low risk" or "conservative" when the private placements were subject to significant risk, which manifested when SEC officials charged Shapiro with running a massive Ponzi scheme at Woodbridge.
At the time, InvestmentNews predicted that the network of brokers involved with the fraud may be larger than first thought, and we've followed regulators as they have implicated more and more stockbrokers and investment advisers in Woodbridge's fraudulent scheme. In February 2019, we traced FINRA's decision in the case of barred Quest Capital broker Frank Roland Dietrich, in which FINRA ruled that even though Dietrich sold Woodbridge interests away from the firm, Quest as broker-dealer remained liable for the illicit conduct of its registered representative.
Likewise, the present AWC states Lamont engaged in unapproved private securities transactions having never sought approval to sell the Woodbridge notes from Whitehall-Parker Securities of northern California, where he still remains registered as a broker.
If you have invested with former IFG/current Whitehall-Parker Securities stockbroker James Lamont or with any broker or financial adviser who has sold you interests in the Ponzi scheme known as the Woodbridge Group of Companies such as Woodbridge Realty or has otherwise recommended an unsuitable product that has proven harmful to your investments or interests, please call an experienced FINRA arbitration attorney at The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.