NAPLES, Fla., April 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Investors holding Lehman 100 percent principal protected notes or other Lehman structured products are now receiving word that their share of the initial Lehman bankruptcy distribution on April 17 amounts to 6 cents on the dollar.
"We've been informed by a representative of Wilmington Trust, the bankruptcy trustee that is handling Lehman notes distributions, that Lehman note holders may receive up to 21 cents on the dollar with that amount dribbled out over the next 3 to 5 years through the bankruptcy liquidation process," said investor rights attorney Chris Vernon, of the Vernon Healy law firm. "In our ongoing efforts to assist investors, we are aggressively pursuing UBS in arbitrations before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for fraudulent misrepresentations to investors that their Lehman notes were safe and 100 percent principal protected."
Vernon Healy has aggressively represented investors with more than $13 million in FINRA arbitration claims against UBS on behalf of Lehman note holders.
"We believe that this updated information from the bankruptcy trustee will shock those defrauded investors who have not obtained legal counsel yet and have held out hope that the bankruptcy process would provide them with some meaningful recovery," Vernon said.
Vernon Healy's advocacy on behalf of Lehman notes investors was featured in an AARP magazine article about the dangers of investing in structured products, which continue to be pitched by brokerage firms to retirees as safe investments. Vernon Healy's ongoing investigation continues to reveal numerous concerns in relation to the sales of Lehman notes by UBS that have not been addressed by FINRA or federal regulators.
Vernon Healy claims have alleged that UBS fraudulently misrepresented Lehman principal protected notes not only to its brokerage firm clients but also to some of its own financial advisors, who continued to sell Lehman principal protected notes as safe investments to investors well after UBS knew Lehman was in financial trouble.
A second distribution in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy is scheduled for Sept. 30, 2012 and a third distribution is scheduled for March 30, 2013 with semi-annual distribution thereafter. The Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in September 2008 is the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history, and it touched off the world financial crisis and most significant economic recession since the Great Depression.
Former CEO Bryan Marsal, who ran Lehman during the bankruptcy, painted a bleak picture for creditors when he told Bloomberg Businessweek that the firm will continue selling assets through 2014 as it tries to raise a total of $65 billion to pay estimated claims of $370 billion.
Bloomberg Businessweek also noted that Enron investors were paid 53 cents on the dollar while average Lehman creditors will receive only an estimated 18 cents on the dollar.
Release link: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-11/lehman-creditors-to-get-22-dot-5b-payment