Soreide Law Files Case against Cetera Advisors, George Merhoff, Jr.

Soreide Law Group filed a FINRA arbitration on behalf of our client, against broker George Merhoff, Jr., and the firm Cetera Advisors LLC, of Denver Colorado. We are currently investigating George Merhoff and his sales practices to his clients of allegedly selling oil and gas investments in large concentrations.
In this recently filed arbitration, the Claimant is a formerly retired construction company owner in his forties who lives in Colorado. The Claimant sold his business in April 2013, and gave all his investable assets to CETERA ADVISORS broker MERHOFF. According to the lawsuit, it is alleged that MERHOFF concentrated $2.1 Million dollars into three non-traded Real Estate Investment Trust’s (REITs) generating in excess of $100,000 in commission for himself. MERHOFF, who had full discretion over the clients account concentrated the balance of his funds into oil and gas related investments.

According to the law suit, the Claimant was completely reliant upon CETERA ADVISORS’ broker MERHOFF for all investment advice. It is alleged that MERHOFF by October of 2015 MERHOFF had concentrated 100% of the Claimant’s account into oil and gas investments that suffered devastating losses.

MERHOFF concentrated the Claimant’s irreplaceable retirement savings in only a handful of high risk investments, heavily on margin, including but not limited to: Linn Energy, Amerigas Partners, Energy Plus Corp, PenGrowth Energ Corp, British Petroleum, Rait Finanical Trust, Teekay Partners, Main Street Capital, and American Realty Capital Partners. Linn Energy. It is alleged that the Claimant was told to stay the course with the investment into Linn Energy which eventually cost him over $650,000 of his retirement savings.
The Claimant was looking to invest into stable income producing investments and was not looking speculate in oil and gas investments. There was also no hedging or stop loss strategy implemented in the account and the Respondents went all in on one idea that has now cost the Claimant over $1,000,000 of losses to his retirement savings.
CETERA ADVISORS’ lack of supervision over their registered representative was evidenced by them allowing their broker to over concentrate the Claimant’s accounts into speculative energy investments and other high risk unsuitable investments without disclosing the true nature and risk of maintaining these investments in such large concentrations. The law suit alleges that this strategy was completely unsuitable for the Claimant and the Respondents never made any attempt to protect his life savings.
In this lawsuit the Claimant is seeking damages of approximately $1,000,000.00 and claiming negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, negligent supervision and breach of contract.
Soreide Law Group would like to speak to you if you were also a client of George Merhoff, Jr. with Cetera Advisors of Denver, Colorado, and you experienced devastating losses due to recommendations of high concentrations of oil and gas stocks with your otherwise conservative portfolio. Call for a no-cost consultation with an attorney on the possibility of recovering your losses at: 888-760-6552.