According to Reuters, the Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against two brokers that allegedly carried out a scheme to profit from the death of terminally ill patients. The scheme, allegedly organized by broker Micheal Horowitz, designated terminal ill patients as annuitants and with the help of broker, Moshe Marc Cohen, sold the variable annuities to wealthy investors. The scheme allegedly operated between 2007 and 2008 and involved the sale of $80 million in variable annuities.
A separate Investment News report indicated that Horowitz, to collect the personal health information in order to identify the dying patients, purportedlyrecruited individuals that worked in the healthcare industry. In addition, Horowitz allegedly urged wealthy investors to invest aggressively to inflate the value of the annuity.
Horowitz’s BrokerCheck report indicates he was a registered representative of Morgan Stanley SW from January 2001 through April 2007, and Morgan Stanley & CO form April 2007 through September 2008. Horowitz worked with Mutual Securities from August 2008 through December 2010. He is currently employed by Kovack Securities.
According to Moshe Marc Cohen’s BrokerCheck report he worked with Woodbury Financial Services from October 2003 through February 2008. He has not worked as a registered representative since 2008.
Brokerage firms have a supervisory responsibility to monitor the activity of their employees and protect their clients from investment schemes. When brokers conduct business that violates securities laws and regulations, the brokerage firm that employs them may be liable for negligent supervision and responsible for investment losses.
If have suffered losses as a result of your dealings with Michael Horowitz or Moshe Marc Cohen, please call the securities attorney of The White Law Group at (312) 238-9650 to discuss your litigation options.
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.
To learn more about The White Law Group, visit www.WhiteSecuritesLaw.com.
