According to Investment News, “[I]n an initial decision, administrative-law judge Cameron Elliot ruled that Mr. Lucia misrepresented for years ‘the validity of purported back-testing in seminars for prospective investors’ interested in his Buckets of Money strategy for retirement savings.”

Back in September 2012, the SEC accused Lucia of spreading misleading information about his “Buckets of Money” strategy at a series of investment seminars. The SEC’s Division of Enforcement alleges that Lucia claimed that the wealth management strategy he promoted at the seminars had been empirically “backtested” over actual bear market periods.

However, according to the SEC, Lucia admitted that tests performed were calculations he performed manually in the late 1990s and that a two page Excel spreadsheet created by an employee that shows these calculations no longer exists.

The White Law Group continues to assist investors in non-traded REITs by filing FINRA arbitration claims against the financial professional or brokerage firm that recommended the investments.

Financial advisors and broker-dealers have a duty to their clients to perform the necessary due diligence on an investment before offering it for sale to their clients and to ensure that any investment recommendation that is made is suitable in light of the client’s age, investment experience, net worth, and investment objectives. Due to the risks and illiquidity of non-traded REITs, these investments are arguably unsuitable for conservative, retired investors.

The White Law Group has been monitoring this situation for some time.  To learn more about The White Law Group’s investigation into potential claims involving Ray Lucia’s “buckets of money” strategy visit http://whitesecuritieslaw.com/2012/12/13/ongoing-investigation-into-non-traded-reits-sold-by-ray-lucia/

If you have questions about investments you made with Ray Lucia, please call the securities attorneys of The White Law Group at 312-238-9650 for a free consultation.

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

For more information on The White Law Group, visit www.WhiteSecuritiesLaw.com.