BBB is here to help. On January 4, 2023, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California denied a motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction filed by the Defendant, a solicitor for Treasure Coast Bullion Group. The Sonn Law Group is currently investigating allegations surrounding Safeguard Metals, LLC and Jeffrey Santulan. The CFTC and NASAA thanks and acknowledges the assistance of the SEC. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. The defendants are also accused of failing to disclose the markup charge to investors and the risk of losing most of their investment funds. It is important to speak with a lawyer about your case. The Sunday Read: 'Elon Musk's Appetite for Destruction'. Safeguard Metals LLC of Woodland Hills, California, targeted older investors and sold them gold and silver coins at grossly inflated prices, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission. DEFENDANTS 11. Jeffrey S. Santulan, age 41 is a resident of Tarzana, California. The complaint charged Safeguard and Santulan with violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. text = text.replace("https://docqnet.dfpi.ca.gov/LicenseSearch","https://portal.dfpi.ca.gov/csp?id=ssp_license_search"); The Supreme Court is reviewing a legal shield that tech companies have long relied on to avoid liability for content on their platforms. We provide detailed analysis for Gold IRAs and Silver IRAs. As the complaint alleges, to perpetuate their fraud, when questioned by customers about the value of the precious metals they purchased, the defendants claimed the silver coins were rare and carried a premium far above the base melt value to conceal their fraud and hide that customers significantly overpaid for their investments. Updated at 2:49 pm on February 2, 2022 Attorney General Todd Rokita today filed a lawsuit with 26 other states and a federal agency against Safeguard Metals, a business that schemed to trick elderly victims into investing in wildly overvalued precious metals. The lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and a bipartisan coalition of 27 states, alleges that Safeguard Metals deceived nearly 450 investors nationwide by . The stockbroker and investment fraud lawyers at Sonn Law Group dedicate their entire practice to protecting the interests of investors who have lost money as a result of the negligent or wrongful conduct of those entrusted with protecting and growing our money. In a simultaneous filing, the SEC commenced a suit against Safeguard Metals LLC and Jeffrey Santulan for violations arising from the fraudulent precious metals scheme and exorbitantly priced silver coins and for rendering unlawful investment advice. Do THIS Or Pledge Your Retirement To The Democrats, ALERT: Secret IRS Loophole May Change Your Life. Safeguard Metals is located in Woodland Hills, California, and Jeffrey Santulan resides in Tarzana, California. I was unable to withdraw my funds and customer service was not responsive. Safeguard Metals LLC and its principal and owner, Jeffrey Santulan, also known as Jeffrey Hill, are charged with having engaged in ongoing fraud to solicit approximately $68 million in funds from more than 450 individuals nationwide to purchase fraudulently overpriced metals and coins from its office in Southern California. ON SALE. Your email address will not be published. on February 2, 2022 announcing charges against Safeguard Metals, LLC and its owner, Jeffrey Santulan. office said the Indiana victims . I deposited a significant amount of money into the service, but soon realized that it was not legitimate. Unfortunately, this case reflects just one of the many epidemic-level investment scams targeting senior and vulnerable populations, said NASAA President and Maryland Securities Commissioner Melanie Senter Lubin. Idaho will continue to partner with fellow regulators to vigorously fight to protect consumers from this and other schemes to defraud," Perkins said. Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. February 23, 2023 31:39. BBB reports on known marketplace practices. Safeguard obtained approximately $67 million from the sale of coins to more than 450 mostly elderly, retail investors, and kept approximately $25.5 million in mark ups. Daily Weather Forecast Idaho consumers invested approximately. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The complaint further alleges that Safeguards sales agents used prepared scripts, some written by Santulan, that were filled with false and misleading statements about how the market was going to crash and how their retirement accounts would be frozen under a new unpublicized law. text = text.replace("https://docqnet.dfpi.ca.gov/LicenseSearch/LicenseDetails/","https://portal.dfpi.ca.gov/csp?id=ssp_license_search"); CRD & IARD Resources. }. We hope the message is coming across loud and clear to the precious metals industry: we will not tolerate deception and fraud in the commodities industry and are committed to holding bad actors accountable for their actions.. ON SALE. "I spoke to Mr Sonn on a complex legal matter. CoinWeek does not buy or sell coins or numismatic material and No endorsement or affiliation to or from CoinWeek.com is made. The complaint alleges Safeguard Metals, LLC promoted precious metals at grossly inflated prices. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The complaint alleges that Safeguard Metals and Santulan perpetrated an ongoing fraud to solicit approximately $68 million from over 450 individuals nationwide to purchase precious metals and coins, including that Safeguard Metals made false statements on its website, inflated its assets by billions, and used fear tactics to motivate senior In October 2020, the Department partnered with other regulators to pursue action against another precious metals dealer, TMTE Inc., also known as Metals.com, Chase Metals, and Barrick Capital. The SEC issued a litigation release on February 2, 2022 announcing charges against Safeguard Metals, LLC and its owner, Jeffrey Santulan. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. This joint investigative effort between the CFTC and 27 state regulators represents our mutual interest in protecting main street investors, said CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam. Additionally, it charged Santulan with aiding and abetting Safeguards violations and as a control person within the meaning of Section 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. . These cookies do not store any personal information. Brazen attempts to target senior citizens or other vulnerable populations will not be tolerated in California, said DFPI Commissioner Clothilde V. Hewlett. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains, plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. The lawsuit which includes the state of California among plaintiffs alleges that Safeguard Metals used false statements on its website, inflating its assets by billions and using fear tactics to motivate senior citizens to purchase the precious metals. Contact Us Now For a Free Consultation $25 MILLION Recovery Against National Brokerage Firm $9.1 MILLION FINRA Arbitration Award Against Brokerage Firm The lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and a bipartisan coalition of 27 states, alleges that Safeguard Metals deceived nearly 450 investors nationwide by . 1 Twitter 2 Facebook 3RSS 4YouTube 5, Report #1509255. *Our firm, in some cases, advance costs and expenses of the case, and in that event, are recovered from the gross recovery of any settlement or verdict. Safeguard Properties Safeguard Equities, Inc BRE#02112381 Real Estate Agents Safeguard Properties aka Safeguard Equities to be avoided at all costs. 6LinkedIn 8 Email Updates. This is a whole series of standard personal injury claims where the plaintiff sues the defendant. *In Canada, trademark(s) of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus, used under License. Safeguard Metals steered over 97 percent of its sales from mostly inexperienced investors into overpriced silver coins which had significantly higher markups than gold coins. Safeguard Metals is located in Woodland Hills, California, and Jeffrey Santulan resides in Tarzana, California. Contact our office today to discuss your case. Questions? Read More Business Details and See Alerts, International Association of Better Business Bureaus. Safeguard Metals charged its customers approximately $26 million in markups on the silver coin purchases. var text; He was direct and asked all the questions that were relevant and provided me with very thoughtful feedback and some useful contacts. The SEC issued a litigation release on February 2, 2022 announcing charges against Safeguard Metals, LLC and its owner, Jeffrey Santulan. The following NASAA state regulatory agencies are CFTCs co-plaintiffs in todays action and the CFTC thanks them for their cooperation: Alabama Securities Commission; Arizona Corporation Commission; Arkansas Securities Department; California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation; State of Connecticut Department of Banking; State of Florida, Office of Financial Regulation; State of Hawaii, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Idaho Department of Finance; Office of the Secretary of State, Illinois Securities Department; Indiana Securities Division; Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions; State of Maryland Ex Rel the Maryland Securities Commissioner; Attorney General Dana Nessel on Behalf of the People of the State of Michigan; Mississippi Secretary of State; Missouri Commissioner of Securities; Nebraska Department of Banking & Finance; New Mexico Securities Division; The People of the State of New York by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York; North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State; Oklahoma Department of Securities; Oregon Department of Business and Consumer Services; South Carolina Attorney General; South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation; Commissioner of the Tennessee Securities Department of Commerce and Insurance; Vermont Department of Financial Regulation; Washington State Department of Financial Institutions; and the State of Wisconsin. 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