• August 31, 2020
• David Lerner Associates

The Wolper Law Firm, P.A., P.A. is investigating claims against David Lerner Associates, Inc., a privately held brokerage firm with assets of more than $4.5 billion. David Lerner issued and/or distributed several proprietary securities in the energy, oil and gas sector that have displayed extreme volatility and, accordingly, have caused investor losses. Many of the investors who have experienced losses are elderly retirees with low risk tolerances, who were steered toward aggressive, privately held oil and gas sector securities.

Within the last six months, oil prices have experienced extreme volatility, reaching a price as low as negative $40 per barrel. This has caused several oil and gas companies to declare bankruptcy, including Chesapeake Energy. Other securities that are correlated to the energy, oil and gas sector have also been negatively impacted.

David Lerner recommended and sold Energy 11, L.P. Energy Resource 12, L.P. and the Spirit of America Fund. The Energy 11, L.P. Energy Resource 12, L.P. and Spirit of America Fund (trades under the symbol SOAEX) are speculative securities that carry a high degree of risk. The Energy 11, L.P. and Energy Resource 12, L.P. are not publicly traded and are illiquid, which further enhances the risk to retail customers.

According to the prospectus, Energy Resource 12, L.P. “Our primary purposes are to generate revenue from the production and sale of oil and gas from the properties we acquire, participate in drilling and other exploration and development activities initiated by the operators of such properties, and distribute cash to our partners.” However, the income distributed is not guaranteed and, in fact, dividends haven been suspended, exacerbated the losses to investors.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, David Lerner and its registered Financial Advisors sold Energy 11, L.P. Energy Resource 12, L.P. and the Spirit of America Fund to retail clients, many of which were retirees. These investments were marketed and pitched as safe and stable income producing investment vehicles. Unfortunately, many of these investors have now experienced substantial losses in Energy 11, L.P. Energy Resource 12, L.P. and the Spirit of America Fund. Dividends on the Energy 11, LP and Energy Resource 12, L.P. have been suspended.

The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. is investigating whether David Lerner sold Energy 11, L.P. Energy Resource 12, L.P. and the Spirit of America Fund to retail investors with low risk tolerances or, alternatively, over-concentrated customer accounts with these securities. If you are a David Lerner customer who was sold Energy 11, L.P. Energy Resource 12, L.P. and the Spirit of America Fund and experienced investment loss, please contact the Wolper Law Firm, P.A. for a free, no obligation consultation.

The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration on a contingency fee basis. Matt Wolper, the Managing Principal of the Wolper Law Firm, P.A., is a trial lawyer who has handled hundreds of securities cases during his career involving a wide range of products, strategies and securities. Prior to representing investors, he was a partner with a national law firm, where he represented some of the largest banks and brokerage firms in the world in securities matters. We can be reached at 800.931.8452 or by email at mwolper@wolperlawfirm.com.