On July 24, 2020, the United States Securities & Exchange Commission filed an action in the United States District Court of the Southern District of Florida, for Fraud in Violation of Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5(a) of the Exchange Act, Fraud in Violation of Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5(b) of the Exchange Act, Violation of Section 17(a)(1) of the Securities Act, Sale of Unregistered Securities in Violation of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act against A Better Financial Plan, Dean Vagnozzi, Perry Abbonizio and abetterfinancialplan.com, LLC. SEC v. Complete Business Solutions Group Inc., et al, Case 1:20-cv-23071 (July 24, 2020)
These are only allegations which are subject to adjudication but the SEC’s action and the facts giving rise to these claims can be found here. Other regulatory actions include:
Pennsylvania Dep’t of Banking and Securities v. Complete Business Solutions Group, Inc. d/b/a Par Funding (18-0098-SEC-CAO).
In re the Matter of Complete Business Solutions Group, Inc. and Complete Business Solutions Group, Inc. d/b/a Par Funding. New Jersey Bureau of Securities (December 2018)
In the Matter of Senior Asset Protection, Inc. dba Encore Financial Solutions, Merchant Growth & Income Funding, LLC, ABetterFinancialPlan.com, LLC aka ABetterFinancialPlan, Complete Business Solutions Group, Inc. dba Par Funding, Gary Neal Beasley and Perry Abbonizio, Texas State Securities Board (ENF-CDO-20-1798) February 2020.
In addition to Par Funding, Complete Business Solutions, and the ABFP Income Fund as set forth in the SEC case in Florida, Dean Vagnozzi, Abbonizio and A Better Retirement Plan derive substantial income from the sale of other “securities” or alternative investments including certain life settlements, or “viatical settlements” including the Pillar Life Settlement Fund and the ABFP Multistrastegy Investment Fund.
Forty-six states, three Circuit Courts, and NASAA say that “viatical settlements” are “securities” under the supreme court’s holding in Howey (the investment of money, with the expectation of profit, from the sole efforts of others), except Pennsylvania.
In Pennsylvania, the Viatical Settlement Act, attempts to regulate viatical settlements under the Department of Insurance, but specifically says viatical settlements are not securities, thus giving birth to Dean Vagnozzi, and A Better Financial Plan.
Vagnozzi and the others most likely lack the resources or insurance to repay these victims, but the banks that facilitate and otherwise aid and abet these activities by accepting third party funds, as part of their AML responsibility, know these individuals are investors, and have responsibility. There are also law firms and an accounting firm that materially assisted in these matters, all of whom should be named in a class action lawsuit on behalf of all victims.
Securities class action claims are often the only, and the most efficient way for investors to recover damages that arise from a common course of claims against an issuer, or any entity, against whom a common claim or set of claims may be asserted.
Class actions involving investments also need not involve issues related to the federal securities laws or be subject to the PSLRA or SLUSA. Class actions can be and have been successful in recovering money for injured investors against third parties, particularly in Ponzi scheme-like cases involving non-covered securities, under common law theories such as aiding and abetting fraud, aiding and abetting the violation of state securities laws, negligence, and aiding and abetting the breach of fiduciary duty.
Legal fees in these cases are contingent in these cases, which absent any statutory fee provision for fees are common fund cases, where legal fees and costs are awarded, or approved by the Court, together with expenses.
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