Ernesto Chavez (CRD: 4315877) faces a new pending claim on BrokerCheck over an investment made in 2018. The customer alleges $180,000 in damages, and no arbitrator has ruled on the claim.
GOPI K. VUNGARALA (CRD# 4856193) (aka GOPI KRISHAN VUNGARALA)
of Midland, Michigan, was charged by FINRA for allegedly lying to a Native American tribe from June, 2011 to January, 2015, about charging $11 million in commissions when he sold the tribe $190 million of non-traded real estate investment trusts and business developments companies.
According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) complaint, Vungarala who served as the unnamed tribe's registered representative and treasury investment manager, he “fraudulently induced the tribe to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in non-traded REITs and BDCs, without revealing he and his firm received commissions for the sales (usually 7%) or the availability of certain volume discounts.”
FINRA stated that the tribe purchased $190.4 million of illiquid REITs and BDCs and were allegedly charged $11.4 million in commissions, which went to Vungarala’s broker-dealer Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments. Gopi K.Vungarala was paid $9.6 million, which was 84.3% of Purshe Kaplan commissions.
According to the FINRA complaint, the client was overcharged $3.4 million in commissions. A FINRA complaint has also been filed against Purshe Kaplan. According to FINRA, the firm's supervisory failures prevented it from detecting and stopping Vungarala's fraudulent conduct. Allegedly, Gopi K.Vungarala made the tribe believe that neither he nor Purshe Kaplan would make commissions on the REIT and BDC sales.
The FINRA complaint lists four causes of action: 1. misrepresentation and omission of a material fact in connection with the sale of securities; 2. failure to disclose to the client that it was eligible to receive volume discounts; 3. failure to supervise Gopi K Vungarala's dual relationship with the tribe; and 4. failure to supervise the sale of non-traded REITs and BDCs for the application of volume discounts.
Gopi K.Vungarala is currently registered with the following firm since 12/2007:
PURSHE KAPLAN STERLING INVESTMENTS
2010 FANTASY LANE, MIDLAND, MI 48642
Gopi K.Vungarala was previously registered with:
10/2004 - 12/2007 AMERICAN GENERAL SECURITIES INCORPORATED - MIDLAND, MI
If you were a client of Gopi K.Vungarala with Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments of Midland, Mi, and had a similar experience of being overcharged commissions, call Soreide Law Group for a consultation with an attorney on the possibility of recovering your losses: 888-760-6552.
Soreide Law Group represents clients nationwide in FINRA arbitrations.
Ernesto Chavez (CRD: 4315877) faces a new pending claim on BrokerCheck over an investment made in 2018. The customer alleges $180,000 in damages, and no arbitrator has ruled on the claim.
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