The Judgment stems from a failed business transaction, whereby David Holzapfel was to open and run two restaurants under his Frat Haus brand.

Two investments were at issue in the lawsuit; one was an agreement whereby the Plaintiff invested $50,000 in exchange for an eight percent interest, and a 25% stake in a Nevada LLC formed by David Holzapfel. The LLC was named The Frat Haus Restaurant Company, LLC, and the purpose of the LLC was to open and run a restaurant (called “Frat Haus”) in the downtown container park district.

The Law office of David liebrader has opened an investigation into claims that Michelle Mikrut has been running a crypto trading program using her Facebook page to solicit investors.  If you invested with Michelle Mikrut, the firm is interested in hearing from you.

Beginning in late 2024  Michelle Mikrut’s Facebook page began touting her expertise in trading crypto and commodities. People interested were directed to contact her using the Facebook Messenger service, where they were instructed to open a Signal messenger account where Ms. Mikrut would tell them how to deposit money into a crypto trading account, and then provide trading information for a fee.

For 32 years David Liebrader has been fighting for Nevada investors in the Nevada courts and in FINRA arbitration proceedings. Over this time he won the largest FINRA arbitration award in Nevada history ($1,225,424) and secured awards, judgments and settlements on behalf of hundreds of Nevada residents.

Since becoming licensed in Nevada in 1993 David Liebrader has maintained an office in Las Vegas where local clients are provided with a free, confidential consultation on their investment loss claims.  Some of the typical claims the firm has handled involve suitability, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, sales of unregistered securities, churning, overconcentration in risky investments, unauthorized trading, promissory note sales, improper sales of insurance and Ponzi scheme losses.

Marco Buhlmann was the CEO of a company called 3Cubed. He also claimed to be a fundraiser for a company called Laundry Sauce, a company which manufactures and sells designer laundry detergent that comes in a variety of custom scents.

In the present matter giving rise to this investigation, Marco Buhlmann approached an individual about making a short term loan to Laundry Sauce. Marco Buhlmann claimed that Laundry Sauce was in the process of a final round of funding before going public, and needed funds for a Christmas holiday season ad blitz to get the public familiar with its product.

This is the latest judgment against Dustin Aab for failing to repay investors who loaned money to him and his former company Crashem Enterprises. The Law Office of David Liebrader also secured a separate judgment against Mr. Aab in the Clark County (Nevada) District Court in September, 2023. That judgment has been domesticated and is being enforced in California.

Despite holding himself out on social media as a savvy investment professional, Dustin Aab is not licensed to sell securities, real estate or insurance in California. Nor is he affiliated with a broker dealer or registered investment advisor.  Investors should always check the license status of individuals they do business with. FINRA maintains a database of people licensed to sell securities, while the California Department of Real Estate, as well as the California Department of Insurance have websites where people considering investing with individuals like  “Dustin da Closa” as he refers to himself, can check licensing status.

At these seminars, which were given at restaurants in Las Vegas to seniors looking for safety of principal and retirement income, Cornerstone Wealth Management and their sales team, many of whom are licensed through Independent Financial Group pitched structured notes as being equivalent to bonds and certificates of deposit, and ideal for seniors looking to avoid stock market risk.

FINRA, which regulates the brokerage industry, has issued a notice to investors regarding the hidden risks of investing in structured notes, which are essentially derivatives, and which investor Warren Buffet famously referred to as “weapons of financial destruction.”  Among the risks identified by FINRA are the lack of liquidity, and that an investor may lose some or all of their principal on the happening of an ill-defined (and supposedly unlikely) event in the future. The Securities and Exchange Commission also published an investor alert bulletin on structured notes in 2015 warning investors of the risks of investing in these complex products.

The pending customer dispute that gives rise to this investigation concerns Marcel Pahmer’s sales of a number of high risk private placements, including Tasty Brands LP, Carter Multifamily Growth and Income Fund and GWG Holdings “L” Bonds. Mr. Pahmer recommended these illiquid, high commission investments to an elderly client who had requested investments to provide regular income with no stock market risk for her retirement.  Instead, due to an over concentration in these high risk programs, the client suffered substantial losses.

These investments, which Mr. Pahmer touted as the foundation of a retirement “income strategy” have performed badly, jeopardizing the client’s retirement; GWG Holdings L Bonds parent company filed for bankruptcy; while Tasty Brands (a pizza hut and burger king franchisee) continues to struggle with inflation and wage pressures, and Carter Multi Family reported that it was suspending distributions in October 2023.  These developments are not surprising given the excessive leverage and high costs associated with these programs.

In court filings the SEC asked that Integrated National Resources’ fundraising activities be halted, and for a Receiver to be appointed to take control of the company’s assets and to recoup money for victims of the fraud.  The SEC’s Receiver’s website is located here, and investors can click on the link to get information on the court proceedings.

Another securities regulator (FINRA) recently barred Alexandria Bovee, a former Edward Jones registered representative, whom Integrated National Resources  investors knew as Aia Montgomery, and who was tasked by INR with persuading promissory note investors to exchange their defaulted notes for equity in INR’s unregistered securities offering.  Ms Bovee recently changed her name to Alexandria Rose Montgomery, and has also been named as a Defendant by the SEC.  Operating under an assumed name was evidently par for the course at INR, as Max Bergman’s legal name according to the SEC was Rolf Max Hirschman.

Our office has become aware of an unregistered promissory note offering by a Simi Valley based company called Jazzberry Digital Solutions, Inc. Many of the notes were sold out of an insurance agency in Bakersfield, California.

According to one investor, Jazzberry raised millions of dollars by selling unregistered promissory notes to over a hundred investors.

With the growth of the legal cannabis industry, unscrupulous operators and scam artists have been plying their trade, luring in unsuspecting investors with promises of outsized returns.

One case involves a $1.8 million judgment obtained in the Monterey County Superior Court against Zabala Farms of Salinas; a mid-size grow operation.  The Plaintiff had invested in a Zabala affiliate that sold unregistered securities.  The State of California issued a cease and desist order against the subsidiary, which was followed by an administrative action filed by the SEC. The investor was able to use the findings to obtain two judgments, one against the affiliate, and later, a judgment against Zabala Farms of Salinas in the Monterey Superior Court.