Securities Fraud Attorneys — Bakhtiari & Harrison

Nationwide Representation for Investors

Bakhtiari & Harrison represents investors who have suffered losses from securities fraud, including Ponzi schemes, pump-and-dump fraud, misrepresentation by broker-dealers, and investment fraud perpetrated by financial advisors and promoters. As securities fraud attorneys, we prosecute claims against FINRA-registered broker-dealers in FINRA arbitration and pursue claims against investment promoters, fund managers, and non-FINRA parties in federal and state court. The law firm has recovered more than $250 million for clients over four decades. Ryan Bakhtiari served as Chairman of the FINRA National Arbitration and Mediation Committee from 2013 to 2017 and as President of PIABA. Partner David Harrison is a former New York City assistant district attorney with direct experience prosecuting financial crime. Investor cases are handled on a contingency fee basis — no recovery, no fee.

Talk to a Securities Fraud Lawyer About Your Investment Losses

Securities fraud is a category of deceptive or manipulative conduct involving securities transactions. Depending on the claim, it may involve material misrepresentations or omissions, a fraudulent scheme, market manipulation, insider trading, or other prohibited conduct. The elements, available remedies, and requirement to prove reliance or investor loss depend on the statute and legal theory involved.

Potential claims may arise under Securities Exchange Act § 10(b) and SEC Rule 10b-5, the Securities Act of 1933,including its registration, prospectus, and anti-fraud provisions—state securities laws, common law, or other statutes. The appropriate claim depends on the security, offering, defendant, statements or conduct involved, and the investor’s relationship to the transaction.

In fiscal year 2025, the SEC reported obtaining orders for approximately $17.9 billion in monetary relief, including disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. During the same fiscal year, the SEC reported returning approximately $262 million to harmed investors. These figures reflect different categories of SEC activity and should not be read as a direct one-to-one comparison or as showing that all ordered relief was immediately available for distribution.

A free consultation with a securities fraud lawyer at Bakhtiari & Harrison is the most direct way to find out whether you have a claim.

Types of Securities Fraud Our Securities Attorneys Handle

Ponzi and pyramid schemes

Ponzi schemes pay returns to existing investors from the capital contributed by new investors rather than from any genuine investment activity. They appear profitable until the flow of new investor capital slows, at which point they collapse, destroying the principal of the most recent investors entirely. When a Ponzi scheme is sold through FINRA-registered broker-dealers, investors may have claims against both the scheme promoter and the selling broker for failure to conduct adequate due diligence.

Broker misrepresentation and omission

A common type of claim in FINRA arbitration involves alleged broker misrepresentation or omission, including overstating expected returns, understating risks, mischaracterizing liquidity, or concealing conflicts of interest. These claims are pursued through FINRA arbitration against the selling broker-dealer.

Pump-and-dump fraud

Pump-and-dump fraud involves artificially inflating the price of a security through false or misleading statements, typically spread through social media, email campaigns, or paid promotional content, and then selling the inflated shares at a profit, leaving retail investors with worthless stock. Retail investors who purchased securities in pump-and-dump schemes may have claims under Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 against the scheme promoters and, where applicable, the broker-dealers who facilitated the transactions. The SEC’s investor alert on pump-and-dump schemes explains how these frauds typically operate.

Investment fund fraud

Hedge fund fraud, private equity fraud, and other investment fund schemes involve misrepresentation of strategy, performance, fees, or liquidity by fund managers. Depending on the facts, claims may be available against a fund manager, adviser, promoter, broker-dealer, or other participant for conduct such as material misrepresentations, undisclosed conflicts, misuse of assets, unsuitable recommendations, or inadequate supervision. Liability is fact-specific and is not established merely because an investment performed poorly.

Private placement fraud

Regulation D offerings are exempt from federal registration under specified conditions, but they may still involve significant risks, limited liquidity, valuation uncertainty, and disclosure issues. Private-placement fraud may involve inaccurate financial projections, misuse of proceeds, undisclosed conflicts, or misrepresentations about management, assets, or risk. Depending on the facts, an investor may assert claims against a FINRA-member broker-dealer based on alleged inadequate due diligence, misrepresentation, failure to supervise, unsuitability, or other conduct. The availability and merits of a claim depend on the broker-dealer’s role and the governing law.

Affinity fraud

Affinity fraud targets members of identifiable communities — religious groups, ethnic communities, professional associations, or social networks — exploiting the trust relationships within those groups to promote fraudulent investment schemes. Affinity fraud victims often delay reporting because of reluctance to harm a trusted community member. Bakhtiari & Harrison has represented affinity fraud victims in FINRA arbitration and federal court proceedings. The SEC maintains an investor alert on affinity fraud with additional warning signs.

Insider trading and accounting fraud

Securities fraud also includes issuer-level misconduct: insider trading on material nonpublic information and accounting fraud that misstates a public company’s financial reporting to inflate its stock price. These federal securities law violations are typically pursued by the SEC and the Department of Justice as enforcement or criminal matters. When an investor’s losses trace back to a FINRA-registered broker-dealer that sold securities affected by this type of fraud without adequate diligence, a securities fraud claim against the broker-dealer may also be available. The SEC’s Division of Enforcement is the federal agency responsible for investigating these violations.

How Our Securities Lawyers Recover Your Losses

FINRA arbitration — claims against broker-dealers

When securities fraud is committed by or through a FINRA-registered broker-dealer, the investor’s primary recovery path is FINRA arbitration. FINRA arbitration is generally faster and less expensive than court litigation, and awards are final and enforceable in federal court. Bakhtiari & Harrison manages the complete FINRA arbitration process on behalf of securities fraud victims.

Federal court litigation — claims against non-FINRA parties

When securities fraud is committed by investment promoters, fund managers, corporate insiders, or other parties who are not FINRA members, claims are pursued in federal court under Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5. Bakhtiari & Harrison handles both FINRA arbitration and federal court securities litigation, and, where appropriate, pursues parallel proceedings against multiple defendants.

SEC and FINRA whistleblower programs

Investors with information about securities fraud may be eligible for financial awards through the SEC’s whistleblower program, which pays which pays 10–30% of sanctions over $1 million collected by the SEC based on original information. Bakhtiari & Harrison evaluates whistleblower referrals as part of its securities fraud practice.

Why Choose Bakhtiari & Harrison as Your Securities Fraud Attorneys

David Harrison served as a New York City assistant district attorney early in his career, prosecuting financial crime from the government’s perspective before moving to Morgan Stanley Dean Witter as in-house counsel. This prosecutorial background gives him a direct understanding of how securities fraud investigations are conducted, how evidence is gathered and presented, and how fraud schemes are structured to deceive investors. It is a credential that no amount of civil securities practice alone can replicate.

Frequently asked questions — Securities Fraud

Contact a Securities Fraud Attorney — Free Consultation

Contact Bakhtiari & Harrison for a free, confidential evaluation of your securities fraud claim. Our FINRA attorneys evaluate every potential investor claim at no charge. Investor cases are handled on a contingency fee basis — no recovery, no fee.

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