It is being reported that Gregory Bartko, a former Atlanta securities broker and lawyer, was recently sentenced to 23 years in prison after being found guilty of defrauding 200 investors out of $3.3 million.

According to the reports, Bartko was sentenced April 4 in Federal District Court in Raleigh, N.C., for his part in the fraud through the sale of unregistered securities that targeted church members.

Apparently, Bartko conspired with securities salesman Scott Hollenbeck of Kernersville, N.C., a member of Gospel Light Baptist Church, who used his religious connections to help raise millions from investors.

Hollenbeck falsely promised guaranteed interest rates of 12% to 14%. Hollenbeck worked through the Caledonia Fund, a fund owned by Bartko.

Despite a cease and desist order from the North Carolina secretary of state’s office issued in April 2004, Bartko and Hollenbeck continued to raise money from investors for another fund Bartko developed, the Capstone Fund. The money was apparently used for Bartko’s and Hollenbeck’s personal use.

The White Law Group is investigating what liability the FINRA broker-dealers that employed Bartko may have for his actions.  Even if a financial advisor is conducting business without the knowledge of his brokerage firm, the firm may still be liable for negligent supervision of their broker representative and may be responsible for investment losses in a FINRA arbitration claim.

If you have suffered losses due to your investing with Bartko and would like to speak to a securities attorney about your potential to recover those investment losses, please call The White Law Group’s Chicago office at 312-238-9650.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.

For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at http://whitesecuritieslaw.com.