For over thirty (30) years we have worked with investors’ whose portfolios have been mismanaged. If you have not studied securities analysis or portfolio management, you may not understand why your portfolio has not performed properly given the market’s historic rise.
The Boliver Law Firm is investigating deeproot Funds of San Antonio, Texas for investor suitability. Recently the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division alleging that Robert J. Mueller, deeproot Funds LLC (a/k/a dprt Funds) and Policy Services operated an investment scam involving $58 million dollars of investor money.
The complaint alleges that Mueller used a 575 Fund, dGRD and other funds (including Policy Services Inc.) as investment tools to commingle money in numerous deeproot Funds and used the money as his own personal “piggy bank”[1].
The S.E.C. complaint alleges PPM’s (Private Placement Memorandums) did not uniformly describe how the Funds would invest in deeproot affiliated businesses[2]. Allegedly the funds never actually received any ownership or other interests in return for the significant assets of the Funds that Mueller and deeproot funneled to other deeproot Funds[3].
The complaint further alleges that Mueller and deeproot used new investor money to make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors in the Funds[4]. In particular, when the Funds failed to receive new investor capital between August and November of 2020, Mueller and deeproot failed for two months to pay monthly “returns” to most of his 575P investors.
Investment advisors (not brokers) have a fiduciary duty to their investors to recommend only suitable products. Whether careful “due diligence” was completed before a recommendation was made to investors to purchase deeproot products is important in an analysis of whether the advisor met the fiduciary standard.
These cases typically allege failed due diligence, improper suitability recommendations and a breach of fiduciary duty. If you have any questions about these products, we will review your situation and answer your questions.
- Mr. Gail E. Boliver has represented investors for 30 years and has approximately 70 arbitrations in addition to several court cases with many cases settling through mediation or otherwise.
[1] SEC Complaint at ¶ 64.
[2] SEC Complaint at ¶ 33.
[3] SEC Complaint at ¶ 34.
[4] SEC Complaint at ¶ 48.
