WESTERN INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES & Matthew T Stratman

Soreide Law Group has filed a FINRA arbitration on behalf of our client (Claimant) against:

WESTERN INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES, INC. (Respondent)

The Claimant is in his late sixties and living in Los Angeles, California. On or about 2019, the Claimant was invited to a presentation on retirement by WESTERN INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES (WIS) former broker, Matthew Thomas Stratman (Matthew T Stratman). Stratman was registered as a broker with WIS of Westlake Village, California, from 09/27/2017 - 12/31/2023 and is not named in this lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that WESTERN INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES broker, Matthew T Stratman, was aware that the Claimant was looking for very conservative investments with reliable income to sustain him through retirement without risk of loss to the principal.  The Claimant was allegedly presented with GWG Holdings L bonds as a safe and secure asset-backed investment that was not correlated to the risks of the stock market. Stratman allegedly recommended a total of $150,000 investment in one 7-year GWG L bond. The lawsuit claims that the Claimant had no knowledge that GWG L bonds were not rated by any rating agency and that unrated corporate debt is typically riskier than bonds with junk status. 

According to the lawsuit, the Respondent and their agent Matthew T Stratman allegedly presented this as an asset backed investment that was aggregating life insurance policies. Allegedly, there was no mention of the changes to the company that took place right before the Claimant’s purchase that ultimately resulted in its bankruptcy. On April 20^th, 2022, GWG Holdings filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy which wiped out a significant portion of the Claimant’s life savings in addition to the lifelong lost revenue that could have been produced in suitable investments.

On December 2021, just two years after the sale, GWG Holdings failed to make their January 15^th, 2022, interest payment of $10,350,000 and to make their $3,250,000 principal payment on their “L” bonds and Respondent did not attempt to liquidate any of the Claimants’ GWG bonds.

The lawsuit claims WESTERN INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES and their representative Matthew T Stratman’s actions have caused damages to the Claimant of approximately $150,000.00. The lawsuit claims negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligent supervision.

According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, Matthew T Stratman has 12 years of experience in the securities industry and was listed with 4 firms.  Stratman is not currently registered. Matthew T Stratman has 4 disclosures on his FINRA CRD report, three are “Customer Disputes,” which have all settled.  Some of the allegations were: negligence, misrepresentations, and omissions.

Soreide Law Group has successfully brought dozens of cases before FINRA involving GWG L bond sales. To discuss losses in GWG L bonds 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, no fee if no recovery.