Webb Creek Management Group: Investor Lawsuits
If you have suffered investment losses in a Webb Creek Management Group-sponsored offering, you may be able to file a FINRA arbitration claim to recover your money. The White Law Group is investigating the liability that brokerage firms may have for selling conservation easement private placements sponsored by Webb Creek Management Group, and our FINRA arbitration attorneys currently represent investors pursuing claims tied to these offerings.
Who Is Webb Creek Management Group?
Webb Creek Management Group, LLC is a Rome, Georgia-based firm that has reportedly sponsored syndicated conservation easement private placements since around 2012. According SEC filings, Sandlapper Securities, LLC has acted as placement agent on Webb Creek-sponsored offerings alongside other broker-dealers that participated in individual offerings.
Risks of Investing in Conservation Easements
Syndicated conservation easement investments can involve significant risks that investors may not fully understand. These complex private placements often depend on property valuations, appraisals, and anticipated tax benefits. If the IRS challenges or disallows a claimed deduction, investors may face additional taxes, interest, and potential penalties, in addition to losses on their original investment. These offerings are also generally illiquid, meaning investors may have limited ability to sell their interests.
Investors who were told a Webb Creek Management Group-sponsored offering was a safe investment, were not adequately informed about the risk of IRS disallowance, or were encouraged to invest a substantial portion of their assets may have questions about whether their broker or brokerage firm conducted adequate due diligence and made a suitable recommendation.
Broker-Dealer Suitability and Due Diligence Obligations
FINRA-registered broker-dealers that recommend private placements like Webb Creek’s conservation easement offerings are required to perform reasonable due diligence and to ensure that any recommendation is suitable in light of the investor’s age, risk tolerance, net worth, financial needs, and investment experience. A broker who allegedly failed to disclose the risk of IRS disallowance, misrepresented a syndicated conservation easement as a low-risk tax strategy, or recommended an outsized concentration in an illiquid private placement may be held liable for the resulting losses — separate from and in addition to whatever happens in the underlying tax dispute.
Webb Creek Investment Offerings Under Investigation
The White Law Group is investigating potential FINRA claims tied to the following Webb Creek Management Group-sponsored offerings:
- Vibrant Minerals Investments, LLC
- Blue Ridge Valley Investments, LLC
- Harlan Mountain Investments, LLC
- Tarpon Creek Investments, LLC
- Fishpond Investments, LLC
- Harmon South Investments, LLC
- North By Northwest II, LLC
- North by Northwest III, LLC
- North by Northwest IV, LLC
- Basin Mountain, LLC
If you invested in one of these offerings, or in a similarly structured Webb Creek deal not listed here, contact us to discuss your options.
How The White Law Group Can Help
The securities attorneys at The White Law Group represent investors nationwide in FINRA arbitration claims against the brokerage firms that sold Webb Creek Management Group-sponsored conservation easement offerings. If your broker failed to conduct adequate due diligence, did not disclose the risk of IRS disallowance, or recommended an investment unsuitable for your financial situation, you may be able to recover your losses through a FINRA arbitration claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I file a claim to recover money I invested through a Webb Creek offering?
Most brokerage account agreements typically contain a pre-dispute arbitration clause, so claims against the brokerage firm that sold you a Webb Creek-sponsored offering are generally filed and resolved through FINRA arbitration rather than in court. Arbitration can still result in a monetary recovery. Contact The White Law Group to review your account documents and discuss whether you have a claim.
What made these syndicated conservation easement deals risky in the first place?
Syndicated conservation easements rely on an appraisal that assigns the land a value far higher than what the sponsor recently paid for it, and investors claim a tax deduction based on that inflated figure. The IRS has disallowed the large majority of these deductions on audit, and the Tax Court has repeatedly found the underlying appraisals unreliable, leaving investors exposed to back taxes, interest, and penalties well beyond their original investment.
Can my brokerage firm be held responsible even if the IRS disallows the deduction?
Yes, potentially. Whether the IRS ultimately allows or disallows a deduction is a separate question from whether your broker met its suitability and due diligence obligations at the time of the recommendation. A firm that failed to adequately vet a Webb Creek offering, or that failed to supervise the representative who sold it to you, may be liable for your investment losses regardless of how the tax dispute is resolved.
Free Consultation
If you have concerns about a Webb Creek Management Group investment and would like to speak with a securities attorney about your options, please call The White Law Group at (888) 637-5510, or visit our contact page to get started online.
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 Seattle, Washington. To learn more about The White Law Group, visit whitesecuritieslaw.com.
