1, Report #1485959. Contact me online or call anytime at 844-689-5754. The SEC issued a litigation release on February 2, 2022 announcing charges against Safeguard Metals, LLC and its owner, Jeffrey Santulan. The Sonn Law Group is currently investigating allegations surrounding Safeguard Metals, LLC and Jeffrey Santulan. Website visitors should be aware that investment markets involve inherent risks and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Biden Fires Warning Shot for Retirees Are You at Risk? State and federal regulators filed suit Tuesday, Feb. 1 against a Woodland Hills-based precious metals sales company and its owner for allegedly perpetrating a $68 million fraud scheme that targeted the elderly by advising them to cash out their life savings and retirement accounts to purchase highly inflated and overpriced metals and coins. If you or your loved one experienced investment losses, we are here to help. . Safeguard Metals is located in Woodland Hills, California, and Jeffrey Santulan resides in Tarzana, California. The Purpose Of Filing A Baby Food Heavy Metals Lawsuit Investors are advised to be particularly cautious when purchasing precious metals and to check for outrageously high commissions and markups, which weve seen as high as 30 to 70 percent, Idaho Department of Finance director Patricia R. Perkins. In many cases, the actual market value of the precious metals purchased was substantially lower than the value of the investors retirement savings liquidated to fund their purchase. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Well guide you through the process. BBB reports on known marketplace practices. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains, plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. }. Oct 08 2022. 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I recently got scammed by SafeguardMetals, a service that promised to provide precious metals investment opportunities. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. "-Sonn Law Group Client. At least 16 Indiana residents invested a total of more than $860,000 into silver coins and other products offered by Safeguard Metals. Augusta Precious Metals Fees. Safeguard Metals is a scam designed to take advantage of those not experienced in buying precious metals. Share your feedback. The complaint alleges defendants operated a fraudulent precious metals investment scheme attracting more than 450 investors and $68 million nation-wide. 10. Safeguard and Santulan also allegedly misled investors about Safeguard's commissions and markups on the coins, charging average markups of approximately 64% on its sales of silver coins, instead of the 4% to 33% markups that they disclosed to investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Safeguard Metals LLC, and its owner, Jeffrey Santulan, for engaging in a multimillion dollar fraudulent scheme involving hundreds of investors who were at or near retirement age. ON SALE. BBB is here to help. Required fields are marked *. 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. this is against Safeguard Metals. Contests and Promotions, 2023, NPG of Idaho, Inc. Idaho Falls, ID USA, Yellowstone Teton Territory Travel and Tourism, View all our Vallow-Daybell coverage here, Idaho budget committee cuts funding to child care assistance, Idaho joins Texas lawsuit over new federal clean-water rules, Police continue to search for 16-year-old runaway, Southeastern Idaho Public Health provides free health screenings, Mortgage applications drop to 28-year low as rates climb, Report shows troubling rise in colorectal cancer among US adults younger than 55, Covid vaccine maker Novavax says it may not survive. Breaking News Alert To learn more about Safeguard Metals and the asset preservation services we provide, contact us today! 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. Safeguard Metals and its sales associates are alleged to have defrauded customers into transferring proceeds from retirement accounts, often consisting of funds from liquidated securities to self-directed individual retirement accounts known as SDIRAs for the purchase of precious metals. A companys registration status can be found at NFA BASIC. Criminal cases involve acts that are considered prejudicial to the tradition as a whole (thus they are generally considered crimes against the state or against the jurisdiction of the competent prosecutor). If the answers seem too good to be true or dont make sense, protect your savings by just walking away.. Questions? Since precious metal prices keep fluctuating, we recommend that you contact Augusta Precious Metals now to find out the exact amounts you are required to pay. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The complaint charges defendants Safeguard Metals LLC and its principal, Jeffrey Santulan a/k/a Jeffrey Hill with executing an ongoing nationwide fraud that solicited and received approximately $68 million in investor funds to purchase precious metals and fraudulently overpriced silver coins. 2023, International Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., separately incorporated Better Business Bureau organizations in the US, Canada and Mexico and BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust, Inc. All rights reserved. | For a free consultation, please call us now at 866-827-3202 or complete our contact form. He is the only member of . This is a whole series of standard personal injury claims where the plaintiff sues the defendant. Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases. Shop Now. Securities litigation attorney Scott Silver, who is representing several of Safeguard Metals' alleged victims in arbitration proceedings, is calling for regulatory reform. According to the SECs complaint, from December 2017 through at least July 2021, Safeguard and Santulan acted as investment advisers and persuaded investors to sell their existing securities, transfer the proceeds into self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts, and invest the proceeds into gold and silver coins by making false and misleading statements about the safety and liquidity of the investors securities investments, Safeguards business, and its compensation. February 24, 2023 36:53. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains, plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. Additionally, Safeguard allegedly marketed itself as a full-service investment firm with offices in London, New York City, and Beverly Hills that employed prominent individuals in the securities industry and had $11 billion in assets under management. "The federal securities laws prohibit deceptive conduct and material misrepresentations in the purchase or sale of securities," said Kathryn A. Pyszka, an Associate Director in the SECs Chicago Regional Office. Indiana AG files lawsuit against precious metals company accused of bilking seniors. The CFTC also strongly urges the public to verify a companys registration with the CFTC before committing funds. The defendants also deceived customers into purchasing silver coins at grossly inflated prices that bore no relationship to the ranges represented to customers. Brazen attempts to target senior citizens or other vulnerable populations will not be tolerated in California, said DFPI Commissioner Clothilde V. Hewlett. All products are presented without warranty. The litigation will be led by Jonathan S. Polish. 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. Safeguard Metals continued charging customers a markup on Silver Coins that still exceeded the maximum possible markup disclosed to customers by nearly 10% on average. After January 2021, the defendants represented . Invoices show that Chase Metals sold Matteo 8,050 Polar Bear & Cub coins, each of which contained 1.5 ounces of silver. SGM does not provide trading advice. Are silver ETFs listed on any stock exchanges? The SEC also alleged that Safeguard and Santulan represented 4% to 33% markups, but actually charged average markups of approximately 64% on its sale of silver coins. That was substantially more than the amounts the defendants represented in Safeguard Metals customer agreements. These cookies do not store any personal information. The defendants advised investors to liquidate their holdings at registered investment firms to fund investments in precious metals through self-directed individual retirement accounts. The complaint charges defendants Safeguard Metals LLC and its principal, Jeffrey Santulan a/k/a Jeffrey Hill with executing an ongoing nationwide fraud that solicited and received approximately $68 million in investor funds to purchase precious metals and fraudulently overpriced silver coins. Required fields are marked *. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court alleges that Safeguard Metals violated the federal Commodity Exchange Act by advising elderly "investors" to cash out their savings and. The markup that customers paid on silver coins, for example, averaged from 51 percent to over 70 percent. Your email address will not be published. Read More Business Details and See Alerts, International Association of Better Business Bureaus. The complaint seeks a permanent injunction to stop the deceptive and fraudulent practices, disgorgement, full restitution, rescission, and civil monetary penalties. Because Safeguard Metals charged exorbitant markups and severely inflated the price of the coins sold, customers allegedly suffered an immediate loss to their investments. Safeguard Metals LLC and its principal and owner, Jeffrey Santulan, also known as Jeffrey Hill, of Tarzana, are charged with having engaged in ongoing fraud to solicit $68 million from more than 450 individuals nationwide to purchase fraudulently overpriced metals and coins from its office in the San Fernando Valley, according to the state Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. I have filed complaint forms with the SEC, Commodities Future Trading Company, CA Department of Business Oversight. 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. Zero-calorie sweetener linked to heart attack and stroke, study finds, Encino woman extradited from Montenegro to serve sentence for COVID loan fraud, Mullholland Drive to be closed at least 24 hours, home evacuated due to mud flow in Beverly Crest, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot concedes defeat, Denver just got a direct flight to this Caribbean island known for music history and vegetarian cooking, NYC Mayor Adams dismisses need to separate church and state, declares himself a servant of God, Zero-calorie sweetener linked to heart attack and stroke, study finds, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. For a free consultation, please call us now at. Idaho consumers invested approximately $1.3 million in the scheme. The Sunday Read: 'Elon Musk's Appetite for Destruction'. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here. The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Safeguard Metals LLC, and its owner, Jeffrey Santulan, for engaging in an alleged multi-million dollar fraud involving hundreds of investors who were at or near retirement age. $68.51. We fight to level the playing field between large corporations and the public investor. 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. Safeguard Metals is a California-based company that sells investors precious metals, often in the form of "rare" or numismatic coins, as purported retirement investments. 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. How many pounds does a kilo of silver weigh? In the end, nearly every customer suffered an immediate loss of their investment on the purchase of precious metals from Safeguard Metals. If you choose to do business with this business, please let the business know that you contacted BBB for a BBB Business Profile. In this case, it was silver coins. Customer Reviews are not used in the calculation of BBB Rating, Need to file a complaint? The alleged $68 million scheme, which includes $26 million in markups alone, took place from between October 2017 through at least July 2021. However, BBB does not verify the accuracy of information provided by third parties, and does not guarantee the accuracy of any information in Business Profiles. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. 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. The metals.com scheme affected 1600 seniors nation-wide and involved $185 million. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has joined a lawsuit with 26 other states and a federal agency against Safeguard Metals, a business accused of scheming to trick seniors into investing in "wildly overvalued precious metals," according to a statement released by the AG's Office on Tuesday, Feb. 1. Defendants/Respondents: Safeguard Metals, LLC; Santulan, Jeffrey aka Hill, Jeffrey. According to the SEC's complaint, from December 2017 through at least July 2021, Safeguard and Santulan acted as investment advisers and persuaded investors to sell their existing securities, transfer the proceeds into self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts, and invest the proceeds into gold and silver coins by making false and misleading statements about the safety and liquidity of the investors' securities investments, Safeguard's business, and its compensation. Contact the City News Service newsroom at 310-481-0404 or news@socalnews.com. Shop Now. Read more Contact. 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 fraudulently soliciting nearly $68 million for precious metals and misrepresenting its exorbitant fees charged to investors. Safeguard and Santulan reportedly used false and misleading statements about the safety and liquidity of the investments, Safeguards business practices, and its compensation structure. Today roughly half of all U.S. households rely on the securities markets to plan and prepare for their . The SECs investigation was conducted by Jedediah B. Forkner and Jean M. Javorski of the SECs Chicago Regional Office, and was supervised by Anne C. McKinley. In fact, the silver coins were significantly less valuable than the defendants claimed, based on the resale prices the firm marketed and promoted. 06:39 PM. 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 Their fee structure includes a $50 account-opening fee, an $80 administration fee as well as a $100 storage fee, totaling $230. To check the status of this licensee, visit Financial Services and Mortgage Lending Licensees Search. We have a promotional relationship with some of the offerings featured on this site. Is Nationwide Gold and Bullion Reserve legitimate? Maria Nikolova . Daily Weather Forecast The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a separate civil enforcement action against the same defendants alleging violations of federal securities laws. 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. Division of Consumer Financial Protection, Division of Corporations and Financial Institutions, Licensee & Financial Service Provider Search, Actions, Order and Administrative Hearing Decisions, Central Locations for Service of Legal Process, Office of Financial Technology Innovation, Financial Services and Mortgage Lending Licensees Search, Licensees and Industries Regulated by the DFPI, Actions, Orders and Administrative Hearing Decisions. 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