Backed by unrealistically ambitious owners, well-intentioned business ideas that fail to meet expectations or become unsustainable regrettably often become full-fledged Ponzi schemes. Today’s Growth Consultant, Inc. (“TGC”) represents an entity that faced the same fate.
TGC advertised to potential investors its expertise in building, acquiring, and monetizing online websites. Investors paid an upfront fee to…
Entering 2020, corporate policyholders already faced a hardening insurance market. But as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on global markets and sow civil unrest throughout the globe, and the insurance industry faces unprecedented losses, the market has further deteriorated entering 2022.
In fact, Reuters reported COVID-19 losses of $44 billion so far, which…
As COVID-19 continues to spread, recent news has highlighted the risk of “take-home” COVID-19 cases and the potential for “never-ending” liability for businesses. So-called take-home lawsuits are filed by employees’ domestic relatives for diseases or illnesses caused by exposures that allegedly traveled home through the employee.
On Jan. 12, 2022, Reuters reported “at least 23…
SEC v. Fusion Hotel Mgmt. LLC, et al. was filed in the Southern District of California on December 14, 2021, claiming violations of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”). The complaint alleges: (1) fraud in connection with the purchase or sale of securities in violation…
Heinen v. iDigrati, LLC, et al. was filed in the Superior Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia on December 16, 2021, claiming civil damages for breach of contract and state securities violations in connection with purported investments in promissory notes sold by Defendants.
Plaintiff is an individual who invested $200,000 with Defendant in exchange for a…
On the heels of a related action filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on November 12, 2021, Eckfeldt v. Barber was filed in the Superior Court of California, Orange County, on December 9, 2021, claiming breach of contract, fraud, intentional misrepresentation, and conversion.…
Two related cases, Bradley D. Sharp v. Shinhan Bank Co., Ltd. (the “Shinhan Action”) and Sharp v. Daishin Securities Co., Ltd. (the “Daishin Action”), were filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on November 23, 2021 by the receivers for various businesses under the Direct Lending Investments, LLC umbrella…
On Nov. 23, 2021, the New York Court of Appeals sided with the policyholder, resolving a decades-long insurance coverage dispute, J.P. Morgan Sec. Inc. v. Vigilant Ins. Co., __ N.E.3d __, 2021 N.Y. Slip Op. 06528, 2021 WL 5492781 (Nov. 23, 2021). It held that a $140 million disgorgement payment to the Securities and Exchange Commission…
On November 1, 2021, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG), along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, the Agencies) issued a Report on Stablecoins (the Report).[1] Stablecoins “are digital assets that are designed to maintain a stable value relative…
McGuireWoods’ Ponzi Litigation team launched its Ponzi Perspectives blog in early 2021 to track key decisions and new cases in Ponzi civil and criminal litigation. Ponzi Perspectives focuses on cases and decisions that have the potential to influence controlling law on Ponzi-related issues. The blog also offers analysis of key decisions and practical considerations when…
