Jonah Engler: Suing to Recover Senior Secured Zero Coupon Notes

Stoltmann Law Offices is investigating Jonah Engler, a former registered representative with HFP Capital Markets in New York, New York from February 2009 until October 2013. Engler is alleged to have sold $3 million worth of Senior Secured Zero Coupon Notes issued by Metals, Milling and Mining LLC in a private placement offering to 59 customers. A private placement a security sold to a relatively small number of select investors as a way of raising capital. Investors involved in private placements are usually large banks, mutual funds, insurance companies and pension funds. The placement does not have to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In many cases, detailed financial information is not disclosed, and, many times, the average investor is only made aware of the placement after it has occurred. The sale of private placements is commonly referred to as “selling away,” which is when a broker sells a security that is not approved for sale by his member firm. Selling away is against Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rule.

Mr. Engler, along with four other representatives, Brett Ian Friedberg, Jonathan Michael Sheklow (a/k/a John James Carter), Joshua William Turney and Hector Perez (a/k/a A. Bruce Johnson) fraudulently sold the notes and misrepresented material facts about the offering. They promised investors returns of up to 100% in one year. The investors involved lost all of their money, save for three, who were paid with funds garnered by new investors. None of the brokers conducted an investigation into the validity and legitimacy of the notes, when they were duly obligated to do so. The notes were misrepresented because the company did not own collateral that they claimed to own. Ore concentrate used that was supposed to serve as collateral was almost worthless. The brokers also failed to do their due diligence in the company, and investing in the company, thereby not being able to relay this information to possible and actual investors. In addition, Mr. Engler allegedly was paid $272,000 from the proceeds of the sale of the private placement. This was a loan paid on a promissory note and was for the financial gain of Mr. Engler himself and not for the business plan of the sale.

Jonah Engler was registered with Gunnallen Fianancial, Inc., Spencer Clarke LLC, First Republic Group, Dawson James Securities, HFP Capital Markets and Global Arena Capital Corp. He has 15 customer disputes against him, one of which is currently pending. He is not licensed within the industry and FINRA permanently barred him from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public.

If you invested money with Jonah Engler, Brett Ian Freidberg, Jonathan Michael Sheklow, Joshua William Turney or Hector Perez, you may be able to recover some of your investment losses. Their former firm at the time of their employment, HFP Capital Markets, can be sued in the FINRA arbitration forum for not reasonably supervising them. Brokerage firms such as HFP Capital Markets have a duty to oversee their employees and to ensure that they do not sell away. HFP Capital Markets and other brokerage firms can be held liable for investment losses if they do not oversee their representatives properly and sufficiently. Please call Stoltmann Law Offices at 312-332-4200 to speak with an attorney about your options of a possible case. The call is free and with no obligation, but time is of the essence with cases such as these. We are securities attorneys who sue brokers and brokerage firms to recover money for investors.