On August 11, 2025, FINRA Dispute Resolution, Inc. issued an arbitration award against Arete Wealth Management, LLC for $280,000 related to the sale of GWG L Bonds to its former client. Ghaninejad v. Arete Wealth Management, et al., FINRA Case No. 22-01257.
The Southern California-based Arete broker involved was alleged to have sold $350,000 in GWG L Bonds to his client, concentrating nearly 100% of his liquid net worth in the speculative bonds issued by GWG Holdings. Near the time of the sale, GWG Holdings had reported hundreds of millions of dollars of losses and suspended the sale of its bonds once. Despite these public available facts, the broker still sold the bonds.
At the evidentiary hearing, Arete's due diligence officer, testified he last documented performing due diligence on GWG and its bonds in 2018, before GWG began its ill-fated merger with Benificient.
Shockingly, Arete brought a counterclaim against the Claimant alleging the bond transactions were unsolicited. The arbitration panel denied the counterclaim in its entirety.
The hearing lasted nine days with testimony from Claimant, expert witness Sander Ressler, and Arete Wealth Management's CEO, Chief Compliance Officer, a supervisor, and the broker who sold the GWG L Bonds.
Extensive discovery during the life of the case revealed numerous due diligence and sales practice issues which were presented at the hearing and are believed to have contributed to the arbitration panel's decision.
This is the largest award against a solvent broker-dealer related to the sale of GWG L-Bonds since the issuer's default in 2022.
If you suffered losses after investing with Arete Wealth Management or with any investment adviser or broker who sold GWG L bonds, please call an experienced FINRA arbitration attorney at The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.