SEC Charges Louisiana RIA for Defrauding Clients through a Cherry-Picking Scheme

Posted on October 1st, 2018 at 4:10 PM

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:

The SEC has filed charges against Louisiana-based RIA, World Tree Financial, and its husband and wife owners, Wesley Kyle Perkins and Priscilla Gilmore Perkins, for conducting a cherry-picking scheme over the course of a four-year period.

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, the advisers traded securities in World Tree's omnibus account and delayed allocating the securities to specific client accounts until they had observed the securities' performance over the course of the day. The advisers then allocated profitable trades to their own accounts, while simultaneously allocating unprofitable trades to a select group of clients. As a result of allocating only unprofitable trades to a select group of clients, those clients realized losses of approximately $4.46 million in their accounts.

According to the SEC, World Tree had $54 million in assets under management and 161 individual clients. World Tree had withdrawn its SEC registration in 2012 but the firm continues to be registered with the state of Louisiana as an investment adviser.

The attorneys of Eccleston Law LLC represent investors and advisors nationwide in securities and employment matters. The securities lawyers at Eccleston Law also practice a variety of other areas of practice for financial investors and advisors including Securities FraudCompliance ProtectionBreach of Fiduciary DutyFINRA Matters, and much more. Our attorneys draw on a combined experience of nearly 65 years in delivering the highest quality legal services. If you are in need of legal services, contact us to schedule a one-on-one consultation today.

Related Attorneys: James J. Eccleston

Tags: james eccleston, eccleston law, eccleston law llc, eccleston, SEC, cherry picking scheme

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

 


It was really fun seeing you fight for us. You have an amazing way of thinking out of the box.


 

Beth M.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

December 19, 2024
GPB Capital Investors See Progress as Court Confirms Receivership

In a significant development for investors in GPB Capital Holdings, the private equity firm will move into receivership following a prolonged legal battle.

December 18, 2024
SEC Fines Cantor Fitzgerald $6.75 Million for Misleading SPAC Investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. with causing two special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) under its control to make misleading statements to investors before their initial public offerings (IPOs). 

December 17, 2024
Former Western Asset Management Co-CIO Charged with Fraud for Cherry-picking Trades

The SEC recently charged Ken Leech, former Co-CIO of Western Asset Management, with fraud.