National investment loss lawyers KlaymanToskes reports former Oppenheimer & Co. financial advisor, John J. Woods, has been sentenced to nearly eight years in prison for his role in a $110 million Ponzi scheme known as the Horizon Private Equity III Fund. The US Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Georgia recently announced that John J. Woods, a 58-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, has been sentenced to nearly eight years in federal prison.
KlaymanToskes previously reported that the firm has filed a $1,000,000 FINRA arbitration claim (no. 23-02037) on behalf of an elderly couple who were victims of John J. Woods’ fraudulent scheme, the Horizon Private Equity III Fund. While the customers sought low risk and fixed income investments to help support them through their retirement years, John Woods allegedly solicited the customers to invest in the fraudulent scheme by misleading them with misrepresentations that Horizon Private Equity III would generate guaranteed returns.
If you suffered losses with John Woods, Oppenheimer & Co., and/or Horizon Private Equity, contact attorney Lawrence L. Klayman at 888-997-9956 or by email at lawrence@klaymantoskes.com to discuss your recovery options. We do not collect attorney’s fees unless we are able to obtain a financial recovery for you.
John Justin Woods (CRD# 1949223) has been the subject of 52 customer complaints between 2008 and 2024, according to FINRA Brokercheck, with investors seeking a total of over $80 million in alleged damages.
While under the supervision of Oppenheimer & Co., Woods created the “Horizon Private Equity III” fund which he used to raise money from investors for an alleged Ponzi scheme. Oppenheimer’s management allegedly aided and concealed Wood’s Ponzi scheme from both regulators and the investing public. All activities related to the Horizon fund occurred at Southport Capital, another firm owned and operated by Woods.
While Woods resigned from Oppenheimer in 2016, the Ponzi scheme continued raising money from investors until at least July, 2021. Approximately 400 victims in 20 states entrusted John Woods with their funds upon his creation of the “Horizon Private Equity III” fund. These investors are encouraged to come forward and pursue a financial recovery for any losses suffered.
If you suffered investment losses with John Justin Woods, Oppenheimer & Co., and/or Horizon Private Equity, contact attorney Lawrence L. Klayman for a free consultation at 888-997-9956 or lawrence@klaymantoskes.com to discuss your recovery options. We do not collect attorney’s fees unless we are able to obtain a financial recovery for you.
According to a FINRA Arbitration Award against Oppenheimer & Co., two former advisory clients of the firm were awarded $1,483,670 in compensatory damages related to investment recommendations in the private equity fund Horizon Private Equity III.
In August 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an emergency action to end the alleged $110 million Ponzi-like scheme. The complaint charged Woods, his companies, and co-conspirators with violating the antifraud provisions of federal securities laws. The SEC alleged that John Justin Woods allegedly created the “Horizon Private Equity III” fund under the supervision of Oppenheimer & Co., and that Oppenheimer’s management aided and concealed Wood’s Ponzi scheme from both regulators and investors.
Supposedly, all activities related to the Horizon Private Equity III fund occurred at another firm owned and operated by Woods, Southport Capital. According to the complaint, John Woods allegedly solicited his customers, including “many elderly retirees,” to invest in the fraudulent scheme by misleading them with misrepresentations that Horizon Private Equity would generate guaranteed returns. However, “Horizon did not earn any significant profits from legitimate investments” and “a very large percentage of purported ‘returns’ to earlier investors were simply paid out of new investor money.”
While John Woods resigned from Oppenheimer & Co. in 2016, the Ponzi-like scheme continued raising money from investors until at least July 2021, according to the SEC. In June 2022, the SEC filed a civil action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against several of Woods’ co-conspirators for their alleged involvement in the Horizon Ponzi scheme fraud.
These individuals are said to have further “fueled the Ponzi scheme by recommending that advisory clients invest or maintain at least $62 million in Horizon III, representing more than half of the total funds invested in the Horizon III scheme.”
The individuals named by the SEC are listed below.
It is alleged that the following brokers, previously registered with Southport Capital, also recommended and sold Horizon Private Equity to their clients:
KlaymanToskes is interested in speaking with investors that maintained accounts with Oppenheimer & Co. If you suffered losses in Horizon Private Equity III and had an account with Oppenheimer & Co., we encourage you to immediately contact securities attorney Lawrence L. Klayman at (888) 997-9956 or lawrence@klaymantoskes.com to discuss recovery options.
KlaymanToskes is a leading national securities law firm which practices exclusively in the field of securities arbitration on behalf of retail and institutional investors throughout the world in large and complex securities matters. The firm has recovered over $250 million in FINRA arbitrations and over $350 million in other securities litigation matters.KlaymanToskes has office locations in California, Florida, New York, and Puerto Rico.
KlaymanToskes, P.A.
Lawrence L. Klayman, Esq.
888-997-9956
lawrence@klaymantoskes.com
www.klaymantoskes.com