Ex-Oppenheimer Advisor Iris Israel: $36 Million Horizon Fund Award

More than two dozen complaints against former Atlanta broker Iris Israel (CRD# 1547363) allege that she participated in a Ponzi scheme, with one such complaint resulting in a $36 million arbitration award. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that she was formerly a representative of Oppenheimer & Company and is currently a representative of Southport Capital.

Ms. Israel’s BrokerCheck report discloses 24 pending investor complaints, two investor complaints that reached settlements, and one that resulted with a FINRA arbitration panel’s award to the claimants. The 24 pending complaints, filed between 2021 and 2022, allege that she participated in a Ponzi scheme in connection with other former Oppenheimer advisors, including John Woods, James Woods, and Michael Mooney. The complaints allege cumulative damages of more than $40 million.

Two other complaints listed on Ms. Israel’s BrokerCheck report, both filed in 2021, similarly alleged that she participated in a Ponzi scheme while she was a representative of Oppenheimer & Company. One complaint reached a settlement of $177,000, while the other reached a settlement of $400,000.

Another complaint, filed in 2021, alleged that she was involved in a Ponzi scheme in connection with former Oppenheimer representative John Woods. The complaint evolved into an arbitration proceeding before a FINRA panel, which issued an award to the customer of $36,745,076.26.

A September 2022 report by AdvisorHub explains that the complaint related to investments in Horizon Private Equity, and that many of the claimants were “retirees and senior citizens.” It adds that the complaint alleged that the former brokers “used Southport Capital, a Chattanooga, Tennessee-based investment advisory firm they controlled, to move customer accounts from Oppenheimer and lure investors into the Horizon scheme.” It also notes that one of the brokers, John Woods, has been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the alleged Ponzi scheme.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Iris Israel holds 28 years of securities industry experience. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the Southport Capital representative is not currently registered as a broker or as an investment advisor. Her registration history includes Oppenheimer & Company (2003-2015), CIBC World Markets Corporation (1994-2003), Painewebber (1989-1994), First Southeastern Securities Group (1993-1994), Cruttenden & Company (1988), AG Edwards & Sons (1987-1988), and Dean Witter Reynolds (1986-1987). Her credentials include the passage of three securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; and the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63. (Information current as of January 23, 2023.)

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