GWG L Bond Investors Seek Recourse After GWG Holdings, Inc. Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

After months of working with legal and financial advisors to try and restructure outside of court, on April 20, 2022, GWG Holdings, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The bankruptcy filing is a significant and troublesome development for GWG L Bond investors who invested substantial portions of their life savings into GWG L Bonds. According to GWG’s latest filing with the SEC, GWG has more than $1.6 billion in aggregate principal outstanding to GWG L Bond investors. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy will allow GWG Holdings to propose a reorganization plan.

Investment News has reported that one anonymous GWG L bond investor estimates that the GWG L Bonds may now be worth 20 to 30 cents on the dollar. Despite the unwelcomed news, GWG L bond investors are not without recourse. Many retail investors, including those represented by our securities arbitration law firm, are filing securities arbitration claims against brokerage firms that sold these speculative, high-risk, and illiquid financial products. These actions are separate and in addition to the bankruptcy proceedings.

GWG Holdings’ bankruptcy filing revealed for the first time that the ongoing investigation by the United States States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) includes an examination of sales practices of the GWG L Bonds by the Selling Group, including Emerson Equity LLC and its network of regional broker-dealers. According to the recent bankruptcy filing, the SEC issued subpoenas and document requests to individual brokerage firms beginning in late-2021.

Investors who purchased the L Bonds offered by GWG Holdings are encouraged to contact Iorio Law PLLC for a free and confidential consultation and to review their legal rights. We can review and analyze potential claims and advise individuals of their legal rights without obligation or cost.

For the latest on Iorio Law PLLC’s investigation of GWG L Bonds, visit our firm’s investigation page: Iorio Law PLLC’s Investigation of GWG L Bonds.

GWG L Bonds and Brokerage Firm Liability

GWG sold the L bonds through Emerson Equity LLC and a network of regional broker-dealers, who pitched the products to individual retail investors. The network of regional broker-dealers who sold L Bonds and shared in the selling commissions included the following firms, as well as other broker-dealers:

• Centaurus Financial, Inc.
• Great Point Capital LLC.
• National Securities Corporation.
• Western International Securities, Inc.
• Aegis Capital, LLC.
• Dempsey Lord Smith, LLC.
• Coastal Equities, Inc.
• International Assets Advisory, LLC.
• Arete Wealth Management, LLC.
• Capital Investment Group, Inc.
• Lifemark Securities, Corp.
• Westpark Capital, Inc.
• Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc.
• Moloney Securities.
• IFP Securities, LLC.
• Center Street Securities.
• Cabot Lodge Securities LLC.
• Kingswood Capital Partners, LLC.
• American Trust Investment Services, Inc.
• Ages Financial Services, LTD.
• Landolt Securities, Inc.
• Intervest International Equities Corporation.
• Titan Securities.
• NI Advisors.
• JRL Capital Corporation.
• The FIG Group, LLC.
• M Stevens Securities, LLC.

Brokerage firms are required to make investment recommendations that are suitable and in the best interest of their customers. GWG’s L Bonds are speculative, high-risk, and illiquid securities sold as private placement offerings by brokerage firms across the country. The L Bonds were likely not suitable for investors with a low or moderate risk tolerance or investors who had liquidity needs.

Brokerage firms and financial advisors must also disclose all material facts and risks of a security when making a recommendation. Through the course of our law firms investigation, investors informed the firm that they were not aware that GWG significantly changed its business model beginning in 2018 or that GWG used investor capital to pay out high distributions to other GWG L bond investors in a Ponzi-like scheme.

When a firm or advisor fails to meet these standards of conduct, they can be held liable for damages.

Firms and brokers must also conduct reasonable due diligence on products they offer before recommending them to any retail investor. There are serious concerns that some broker-dealers recommended GWG’s L Bonds to customers without first conducting sufficient due diligence on the GWG L bonds or GWGH.

How to Recover Losses or Obtain a Free Consultation

In light of this most recent development, L bond investors are encouraged to contact Iorio Law PLLC, a leading securities arbitration law firm, to review their legal rights. Our firm is representing numerous GWG L bond investors in filing securities arbitration claims against firms such as Emerson Equity LLC and Centaurus Financial, Inc.for sales practice violations connected to the solicitation and sale of GWG L Bonds.

The L Bonds are speculative, high-risk, and illiquid private placement offerings. They were likely not suitable for investors with liquidity needs, low to medium risk tolerances, or senior or elderly investors.

About Iorio Law PLLC

Iorio Law PLLC is a securities arbitration law firm located in New York, NY. We represent investors nationwide and vigorously pursue FINRA arbitration claims on behalf of investors to recover investment losses.

We have over 15 years of experience as securities arbitration lawyers and have helped investors recover investment losses in over 800 cases. The firm will file a FINRA securities arbitration claim on your behalf on a contingency fee basis to try to recover your losses. If we do not obtain a recovery, you do not owe us a legal fee.

This blog was published by August Iorio when he was a Partner at his previous firm and has been updated to reflect Iorio Law PLLC’s new contact information. To evaluate any potential claims, contact securities arbitration lawyer August Iorio for a free consultation contact Iorio Law PLLC at info@iorio.law or (646) 330-4624.