The Mauriello Law Firm is representing investors in connection with an alleged “Ponzi scheme” created by Orange County investment adviser Richard H. Nickles and his associated entities, Innovative Advisory Services, Inc., Innovative Advisory Services, LLC, and Island Trader LLC. In April 2010, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a civil suit charging Nickles and his three companies with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions, disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and financial penalties against all defendants. The SEC complaint alleges the following: Since March 2009, Nickles raised approximately $3 million through advertisements in prominent newspapers for investments that are purportedly insured or U.S. Government guaranteed. In reality, Nickles did not invest the funds as promised. The SEC alleged that Nickles provided investors with false trade confirmations that identified securities he had not purchased or that were non-existent. In an effort to portray his business as legitimate, Nickles issued the confirmations through Island Trader, a regulated broker-dealer which had no dealings with Nickles or Innovative Advisory since March 2009. According to the complaint, through these confirmations, Nickles succeeded in giving investors the false impression that he was associated with a legitimate broker-dealer and that their investments were insured with the Securities Investor Protection Corp. He allegedly used the name Island Trader LLC for his non-regulated company in order to give further credence to his misrepresentations. The SEC also alleges that Nickles held himself out as a certified financial planner, when, in fact, he was not.
Click here to see a copy of the SEC’s civil complaint against Richard Nickles and these entities.
The Honorable James V. Selna, United States District Judge, granted the SEC’s motion for preliminary injunction against the defendants, freezing defendants’ assets, requiring accountings, prohibiting the destruction of documents, and granting expedited discovery.
If you invested with Richard Nickles or his companies, you may in fact have simply provided your money to Nickles and received transaction documents that were created or falsified to indicate that the funds were placed in legitimate actual investments, when in reality they were diverted to other uses by Nickles and these companies, including possibly to repay earlier investors.
If you have provided investment funds to the above individuals or entities, please contact the Mauriello Law Firm for a no-obligation consultation regarding your legal rights and your options for recovering your investment losses.