JEFFREY D NOARD Formerly of EMERSON EQUITY & CABOT LODGE SECURITIES

Soreide Law Group was contacted by an investor who experienced losses in Versity Investments DSTs (Delaware Statutory Trusts) allegedly due to the recommendation of former EMERSON EQUITY LLC of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, broker/investment advisor, JEFFREY DONALD NOARD (JEFFREY D NOARD). Before Emerson Equity, Noard was registered with CABOT LODGE SECURITIES LLC of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, from 06/14/2013 - 06/26/2020.

Many investors were sold Delaware Statutory Trusts (DSTs) as “safe” passive real estate investments or as part of a 1031 exchange strategy. In reality, thousands of investors are now facing suspended distributions, collapsing property values, and complete illiquidity, leading to significant Delaware Statutory Trust losses for many.

Versity Investments LLC, known now as Crew Enterprises LLC, and their principals are facing a $56 million lawsuit alleging fraud and the misappropriation of investor funds. Allegations are alleging investor funds were diverted to finance other real estate transactions and for personal use by the co-defendants.  On July 17, 2025, Crew Enterprises was given a $47 million judgment for allegedly breaching its obligations to a lender.

According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, available to the public on FINRA’s website, JEFFREY D NOARD, has 34 years of experience in the securities industry and has been listed with 11 firms.  Noard has 11 disclosures on his FINRA CRD report, 8 of the disclosures are “Customer Disputes.” Of the 8 customer disputes, 5 have settled and 3 are pending.  The significance of JEFFREY D NOARD’s disclosures is underscored in FINRA NOTICE to MEMBERS 03-49. FINRA conducted a review of the CRD’s of all registered representatives, only .41% had been the subject of 3 or more customer complaints. In other words,Noard’s customer complaints rank him in the top one-hundredth percent of all registered representatives for customer complaints. 

Some of the more recent customer disputes listed on Noard’s FINRA CRD report are:

There is a pending dispute filed against JEFFREY D NOARD dated 2/24/2026 alleging, “Claimants allege Violation of Wisconsin Uniform Securities Act, Fraud/Negligent Misrepresentation, and Negligence with regard to various investment products they purchased from 2019 to 2025.”  The damage amount requested is $250,000.00.

Another pending dispute filed against Noard dated 9/10/2024 and is requesting damages of $3,900,000.00. The allegations are, “Unsuitable investments, failure to act in the best interest of the claimants, misrepresentations and omissions, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, negligence and violations of state and federal laws.”

On 2/16/2023 a “Customer Dispute” filed against JEFFREY D NOARD settled for $40,000.00.  The allegations were, “Claimants allege Violations of the Wisconsin Uniform Securities Law, negligence, failure to conduct adequate due diligence, failure to act in claimants' best interest, misrepresentation and omission of material facts, violations of other industry standards of care with respect to FINRA Rules 2010, 2090, 2020 and 3110, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and respondeat superior, with respect to claimants' purchase(s) of GWG L-Bonds during 2019.”

If your broker or financial advisor recommended a DST or GWG L-Bonds that are now suspended, bankrupt, or dramatically underperforming, the investment may have been:

• Unsuitable for your risk profile
• Misrepresented as “safe” or “guaranteed income”
• Inconsistent with your liquidity needs
• Improper for retirement or conservative investors

These cases are often pursued through FINRA arbitration for:

• Unsuitable recommendations
• Failure to disclose risks
• Misrepresentation or omission
• Breach of fiduciary duty

To discuss this article or any other securities issues, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer at no cost:   888-760-6552.

Soreide Law Group represents our clients nationwide before FINRA on a contingency fee basis.