CHICAGO, March 25, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stoltmann Law Offices and Higgins and Burke announce they have filed multiple FINRA arbitration claims on behalf of Linsco Private Ledger (LPL) clients who were victimized in a multi-million dollar ponzi scheme run by former LPL financial advisor Raymond Londo.
The FINRA arbitration statement of claim alleges Raymond Londo, while employed by LPL in both Elmwood Park and Grayslake, Illinois ran a nearly decade long ponzi and conversion scam to defraud LPL clients. The arbitration claims allege conversion, fraud, negligence, misrepresentations and omissions, and a failure to supervise claim against LPL for failing to uncover and stop the scam in a reasonable time. According to Chicago securities attorney Andrew Stoltmann, "The ponzi scheme engaged in by Londo was brazen and obvious and kicked up dozens of supervisory red flags. Londo was an addicted gambler with unpaid gambling debts and living a lifestyle far outside of his financial means. This scheme should have been detected and stopped right after it started."
According to the FINRA statement of claim, for almost ten years Londo was registered as an agent and registered representative of LPL while he perpetrated a vast criminal scheme to defraud LPL clients. The scheme involved Londo accepting money from LPL clients by representing that he was investing the money on their behalf in a LPL account where he could obtain investment opportunities not otherwise available to the Claimants and others. Instead of investing the money, however, Londo diverted the monies to his own personal use, including extensive gambling junkets to Las Vegas.
According to the FINRA statement of claim, Londo allegedly drained LPL trading accounts, life insurance policies, and other investments, based on representations that he was investing the proceeds in guaranteed investments. No guaranteed investments were ever made by Londo. Instead, Londo commingled investors' funds in accounts under his own control where he reportedly lost the funds. Shortly after the discovery of the Ponzi scheme, Londo met his death. Limited facts are available concerning the cause.
According to John Burke, "These sorts of ponzi schemes run by stockbrokers at full service brokerage firms in Illinois and throughout the country are much more common than people think. Unfortunately, the failure to supervise rogue brokers is the linchpin action that lets these scams multiply exponentially. Fortunately, some, or all of these losses may be recoverable through the FINRA arbitration claims or lawsuits."
Stoltmann Law Offices of Chicago and Higgins and Burke of St. Charles, Illinois are currently representing 12 Londo victims with combined losses in excess of $4 million. More information is available at www.RaylondoFraudRecovery.com, www.InvestmentFraud.PRO or www.HigginsandBurke.com