Page Perry Pursuing Church Bond Loss Claims

 

Page Perry announces that it is investigating instances where church bonds were improperly sold to members of the investing public. Recently the firm has been approached by investors whom sustained devastating losses as a result of investing in church bonds and has found an array of misconduct by the sellers ranging from outright fraud to negligent or reckless disregard of standards of conduct governing brokers and financial advisers. The firm is currently actively pursuing such claims.

Church bonds are typically issued in relatively small amounts in the range of $10 million to $20 million. These small issue bonds tend to be illiquid or thinly traded at best. Church bonds are sometimes pooled and sold to investors. In other cases, investors have purchased specific church bonds.

More churches than ever are delinquent or in default on their loans. Foreclosures on church properties have skyrocketed. A poor real estate market and the special use nature of church facilities have made it difficult for lenders to sell foreclosed church properties. Since 2008, many churches and at least one company that specialized in church lending have filed for bankruptcy.

The results have been disastrous for church bond investors. Many of them are retirees who depend on interest payments to meet living expenses and have struggled to make ends meet after interest payments stopped.

Page Perry has found that church bonds were often sold to investors by means of affinity fraud, which capitalized on a tendency that we all have to trust those with whom we share a common bond, like church membership or religious beliefs. Unscrupulous brokers are sometimes able to use such affinities to obtain instant credibility with their victims.

The firm has also found that many securities brokers sold these bonds without complying with the rules governing their conduct. These brokers violated a number of duties owed to their customers. In addition to violating their duty to have a reasonable basis for recommending an investment, based on a proper due diligence investigation, and with due consideration of the investor’s objectives, risk tolerance and financial profile, many have violated their duty to present a proposed investment fairly, disclosing all material risks and problems, as well as potential benefits.

When brokers fail to fulfill their duties, investors who have suffered losses have compelling claims to recover their losses.

Page Perry is an Atlanta-based law firm with over 170 years of collective experience maintaining integrity in the investment markets and protecting investor rights.