The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Peter Holler. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Peter Holler has been the subject of multiple customer disputes connected to the Woodbridge Group of Companies.
Peter Holler was a Tennessee based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for forty years. During his career, he was registered with four different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.
His Registrations
- Western Reserve Financial Services Corp (1977-1978)
- Chubb Securities Corporation (1978-1992)
- Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation (1992-2001)
- Securities Service Network (2001-2017)
The Allegations
- In August 2017, Peter Holler was discharged from his position at Securities Service Network. This was due to allegations that he took part in unapproved and undisclosed outside business activities. This particular activity involved the sale of the fraudulent Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund 3A to customers. This product had never been approved by Securities Service Network for sale.
- Between April and November 2018, Peter Holler was the subject of five customer complaints all from customers alleging that he sold them securities connected to the Woodbridge Group of Companies. These cases were settled for a total of approximately $375,000 in damages.
- Peter Holler was eventually sanctioned by FINRA after they launched an investigation into the alleged sale of Woodbridge securities. The findings of the sanction reaffirm that Holler allegedly engaged in these private securities transactions without providing notice to his member firm. The findings also state that he solicited investors to purchase promissory notes connected to the Woodbridge Group of Companies. Peter Holler allegedly sold almost $1.40 million worth of promissory notes to individuals. Nine of the said individuals were customers of the member firm. Peter Holler received almost $50,000 in commissions for these transactions. Due to the allegations against him, he was fined $10,000, forced to repay the full amount of his commission in disgorgement, and suspended from acting as a securities broker in any fashion for a period of two years.
The Woodbridge Group of Companies
The Woodbridge Group of Companies was the culmination of various different funds that the Securities and Exchange Commission claimed acted as a massive Ponzi scheme. Over a five year period, hundreds of securities brokers like Peter Holler solicited $1.2 billion from 8,400 investors–most of whom were elderly. They did this by selling them promissory notes. These investors were under the impression that these notes were backed by mortgages as that was Woodbridge’s business plan. However, the Woodbridge Group of Companies was doing very little in regards to providing mortgages. Because of this, no growth was actually taking place. Thus, the only way for them to pay investor dividends was by using money coming in from later rounds of investors. This continued until, like all Ponzi schemes, the entire operation collapsed.
Oakes & Fosher Can Help
Many investors are unaware of the legal recourse available to them after losing money due to securities broker fraud and/or negligence. The truth is that investors who have lost money in this fashion may actually be entitled to damages.
Oakes & Fosher dedicates its entire legal practice to helping investors across the nation. If you, or someone you know, have lost money investing with Peter Holler, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. Oakes & Fosher handles cases on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.
