Marco Casale: Did RF Lafferty Advisor Recommend L Bonds?

At least one current or former customer of RF Lafferty & Company advisor Marco Casale (CRD# 1663936) is listed as a creditor for a $150,000 investment in GWG L Bonds, according to public records filed with a US bankruptcy court. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that the New York City-based advisor has also received multiple investor complaints.

Mr. Casale’s BrokerCheck report discloses several investor complaints. The most recent, filed in 2011, alleged that as a representative of US Financial Investments, he made excessive trades involving unsuitable, high-risk securities. The complaint reached a settlement of $14,999.99.

A second investor complaint, filed in 2002, similarly alleged unsuitable and excessive trading while he was a representative of First Montauk Securities Corporation. In 2016 the complaint reached a settlement of $10,000.

GWG Holdings is a Dallas-based alternative asset management firm, per an April 2022 article in the Wall Street Journal, known for its L bonds, “which pooled money from bond investors to purchase life-insurance policies on the secondary market,” and repay investors when the policy owners passed away. The company reportedly raised more than $1 billion in investor funds and eventually filed for bankruptcy under SEC scrutiny, according to a report in The DI Wire. More information on GWG L bonds, and whether they may have been unsuitable investments for conservative and/or inexperienced investors, is available here.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Marco Casale holds 34 years of securities industry experience. Based in New York City, he has been a broker with RF Lafferty & Company since 2016. His past registrations include Newport Coast Securities (2014-2016), US Financial Investments (2003-2014), US Securities & Futures Corporation (2001-2003), First Montauk Securities Corporation (2000-2001), Sharpe Capital (2000), Josephthal & Company (1998-2000), Robb Peck McCooey Clearing Corporation (1997-1998), the Boston Group (1995-1997), Janney Montgomery Scott (1993-1995), Oppenheimer & Company (1992-1993), Jesup Josephthal & Company (1990-1991), Richardson Lyle & Adler (1990), Global Capital Securities (1989-1990), Bailey Martin & Appel (1988-1989), and DH Blair & Company (1988). His 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. He is licensed in Florida, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. (Information current as of June 9, 2023.)

Carlson Law has represented at least nine investors in claims against their financial advisors for investments in GWG Holdings Inc. If you or a loved one have suffered investment losses, please call us at 888-976-6111 or complete our contact form for a free and confidential consultation.