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GS Partners not licensed to solicit investments in SA – FSCA

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has warned the public to exercise caution when dealing with GS Partners, also known as GSP or Gold Standard Partners.

This follows similar warnings against GS Partners in the US and Canada for violations of securities laws.

“GS Partners is not licensed under any financial sector law to provide financial products or financial services in South Africa. The FSCA is concerned about the unrealistic returns offered by GS Partners, and is conducting a preliminary investigation into its activities in South Africa. The FSCA has approached GS Partners for comment, and the entity has until Friday, 24 November 2023 to reply,” reads the FSCA statement.

The FSCA goes on to say that while it is not commenting on the specifics of GS Partners’s business, anyone offering financial products in SA requires authorisation from the FSCA.

Backing from sports stars

GS Partners and its affiliates have been criticised on social media for operating a multi-level marketing scheme that appeared to offer unrealistic returns while rewarding agents with generous commissions for introducing new investors.

The company extensively used sports stars, among them former Springbok hero Victor Matfield, to market its investments.

A cease and desist order issued by the Texas State Securities Board this month highlighted this aspect of its business model: “GSP has been claiming that various athletes have also endorsed, promoted or otherwise supported the investments, the operations of GSB Group, and/or Lydian World. These athletes include boxer Floyd Mayweather and footballers Roberto Carlos, Mario Yepes, David Trezeguet, Michel Salgado, and [former SA soccer star] Lucas Radebe.”

Gold Standard Banking Corporation (GSB) is another affiliated company registered in Germany.

Defamation lawsuit

In 2021, GSB, its chair Josip Heit, and four other individuals – Tony De Gouveia, Bruce Hughes, Andrew Eaton and Brendon Earp-Jones – sued three commentators appearing on the YouTube channel G-Crypt for defamation and loss of income to the tune of R476 million after they criticised the company’s investment offering in unflattering terms. The company and the plaintiffs say they suffered substantial income losses after the videos first appeared.

The three defendants are Louis Nel, Francois Harris, and Gareth Grobler. The offending G-Crypt videos have since been removed from YouTube, though efforts are being made to reinstate them. Grobler founded the now-defunct iCE3x crypto exchange, which is currently in provisional liquidation.

The defendants opposed the GSB defamation claim and fired off a counter-suit, seeking to have it declared an illegal scheme. That legal suit has yet to be heard in court, and it is unclear what impact the latest FSCA warning will have on the outcome.

Skyscraper vouchers and the metaverse

The Texas State Securities Board says GSP recently engaged in an offering of digital assets where each digital asset represented fractional ownership of a unit in a skyscraper, known by the names “G999 Exclusive Living Business Bay” and “G999 Tower”.

It purportedly acquired the rights to resell units in the Dubai skyscraper for 12 months and issued “XLT Vouchers”, representing ownership of one square inch of the tower as a way to earn passive income. The vouchers for the first phase of the scheme went on sale for $9.63 (about R180) each, with two more phases due to come on stream at $12.52 and $15.68 each, with the purpose of raising about $175 million (about R3.2 billion) in total.

The Texas regulator says the company was also involved in promoting a metaverse known as Lydian World or Lydian.World, which would allow its community members to participate in assisted copy trading (the ability to mimic expert traders), digital artwork creation and marketing, and transparent digital banking reward mechanisms, among other opportunities.

Lydian World provides over 18 million square metres of virtual land that can be acquired with LYS tokens, a digital asset issued on the Binance blockchain.

“After using LYS to purchase virtual land in Lydian World, users can then build a virtual building on the virtual land, and then open a virtual business using the virtual building as a virtual storefront, and even rent the virtual building to other users – assuming the virtual building’s design is approved by a virtual city town hall,” says the Texas cease and desist order.

LYS token owners can purportedly earn annual returns of 14.8% in the first year by “staking” (investing) the tokens. Additional benefits accrue to members who purchase what are known as Elemental MetaCertificates and Success Series Certificates.

“Respondent GSP frequently incentivizes the loading of additional principal through various promotions. These promotions may increase the value of a certificate or unlock weekly or monthly income streams,” says the Texas regulator.

The FSCA notice provides links to warnings issued against GSB by regulators in Texas, Washington, California and Wisconsin, as well as the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Canada’s Autorité Des Marchés Financiers. Cease and desist orders were also issued in recent weeks against GSB and its affiliates, including Swiss Valorem Bank and Josip Heit, by the US states of New Hampshire, Arizona and Florida.

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CFP Board Suspends Fidelity Advisor Charged With Sex Assault Of A Minor

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards has imposed an interim suspension on a Dallas-based financial advisor who was arrested by the state for sexual assault of a minor.

The suspension of Anthony C. Fallahi, a Fidelity Investments employee, was effective as of March 3, the CFP Board said.

Fallahi’s BrokerCheck lists pending charges for sexual assault of a child under 17 on December 3. The Tarrant County Sherriff Office did not respond to a request for the arrest record.

The board said after learning of the felony charges against Fallahi, it filed a motion on February 7, 2021, requesting that the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC) issue an interim suspension order against Fallahi.

On March 3, a hearing panel of the DEC determined that the board “demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that Mr. Fallahi's conduct poses a significant threat to the public and significantly impinges upon the reputation of the profession or the CFP certification marks,” the board said. At that time, the interim suspension was imposed.

An interim suspension, the board explained, is a suspension of a CFP professional’s certification and trademark license, pending proceedings. Those subject to an interim suspension order must not use the CFP certification marks or state or suggest that they are CFP professionals while the order is in effect, the board said.

The interim suspension order is a temporary sanction and does not preclude the board from imposing a final sanction, the board said. The order will remain in place until the DEC or, if an appeal is filed, the appeals committee issues a final order.

Fallahi has been with Fidelity Brokerage Services since 2008. According to his Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, he was registered with Strategic Advisers LLC in Dallas from 2008 to 2018, and with Fidelity Personal and Workplace Advisors in Boston from 2018 until January.

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Shlomo Rechnitz nursing home suit over COVID deaths reflects ‘broken state licensing’

Johanna Trenerry of Happy Valley holds a photograph of herself with her husband, Art Trenerry, who died last year of COVID-19 while staying at Windsor Redding Care Center. His family members, including Johanna, are named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the facility. Photo by Matt Bates for CalMatters

IN SUMMARY

A lawsuit describes nursing home magnate Shlomo Rechnitz and his companies as the “unlicensed owner-operator” of a troubled Redding facility.

The state’s largest nursing home owner, Shlomo Rechnitz, is facing a lawsuit alleging that one of his homes is responsible for the COVID-related deaths of some 24 elderly and dependent residents. 

The catch? Five years ago, the state denied Rechnitz and his companies a license to operate the place, the state’s own records show.

The case brought against Rechnitz, his companies and the home itself, Windsor Redding Care Center, is yet another footnote in an ongoing nursing home licensing saga documented in a CalMatters investigation last spring. 

That investigation revealed an opaque and confusing state licensing process frequently marred by indecision and delays. CalMatters found that the California Department of Public Health has allowed Rechnitz to operate many skilled nursing facilities for years through a web of companies as their license applications languish in “pending” status — or are outright denied. 

The lawsuit — which includes a total of 46 plaintiffs, including 14 deceased residents and 32 family members — specifically calls out Rechnitz and his management companies as being an “unlicensed owner-operator” of the skilled nursing facility. The plaintiffs also are suing the previous owners, whose names and companies remain on the license.

Family members of residents who died as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak last fall are suing the facility for elder neglect and abuse, alleging that Windsor Redding forced employees to come into work while symptomatic with the virus, triggering the outbreak. 

The complaint further alleges that dozens of residents who fell ill were left isolated and neglected due to “extreme understaffing.” One nurse told state inspectors that she alone had to pass out medications to 27 COVID-positive patients, meaning the medications were often late, according to an Oct. 21, 2020, inspection report, also cited in the lawsuit. Another nurse told them that nurses on the COVID unit, or “Red Zone,” were “stressed, overloaded and tapped out” and unable to take breaks, the report said.

The complaint lists 142 violations substantiated by investigators including neglect, abuse, staffing and infection control issues between January 2018 and June 2021. In November 2020, the federal government fined the facility $152,000 as a result of the inspections.

A ‘broken’ licensing system

Democratic Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi of Los Angeles said the lawsuit against the Redding facility, located 160 miles north of Sacramento, “clearly provides Exhibit A of the broken state licensing system for nursing homes.”

“The fact that this facility had its license application denied and yet they continued to operate during this pandemic, which unfortunately led to an alleged 24 deaths from COVID, highlights the urgent need for the state to fix its broken licensing system,” he said.

On Tuesday, the Assembly Health Committee will hold an informational hearing to discuss problems with nursing home oversight and licensing in the state.

“They know this operator is running the facility, and they’re not doing anything about it. In a sense, the state could be co-defendants in this case.”

Rechnitz, a Los Angeles entrepreneur, was in his mid-30s when he began buying nursing homes 15 years ago. He and his companies, including Brius Healthcare, have acquired at least 81 facilities around California, making him the state’s biggest for-profit nursing home owner. 

Rechnitz and his companies operate more than a quarter of those facilities despite the fact that the California Department of Public Health has not approved — or has outright rejected — their licensing applications, according to state records. In the case of five “Windsor” facilities, including Windsor Redding, Rechnitz and his companies continue to run them after the state’s license denial. The previous owners’ companies, affiliated with the Windsor brand, are still listed in state records as the official license-holders.

Mark Johnson, an attorney who represents Rechnitz and Brius, said in an emailed statement that he could not comment on pending litigation except to say that: “The facility vehemently disagrees with the allegations and it intends to defend the action vigorously.” 

Johnson has previously declined to answer detailed questions about the licensing issues. But he has expressed frustration in emailed statements to CalMatters about the state’s inconsistent approach to Brius homes — approving some, denying others, and leaving still others stuck in pending status.

The death of Art Trenerry

Art Trenerry arrived at Windsor Redding on Aug. 6, 2020, after suffering a stroke, his family and attorney say. Several of Trenerry’s family members are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. 

Visitors weren’t allowed inside at the time, they told CalMatters. Instead, Johanna, his wife of 60 years, and their children would visit outside the window, said one of their daughters, Nancy Hearden, in an interview. Sometimes the facility would wheel the wrong person out, she said.

Johanna said she would ask nurses to hold the phone to her 82-year-old husband’s ear so she could tell him “Hi Dad, I love you.” 

His daughters called twice a day to check on him, growing concerned by their perception that “things aren’t right,” Hearden said. They began looking to move him to a new facility, or to bring him home, she said.

Hearden said she called in a complaint about the care her father received to Shasta County’s public health department on April 20, 2021. “Their response to me was, ‘they’re complying now,'” she said.

Hearden said she had not known who owned the facility when her father arrived there. The state denied Rechnitz licenses to operate Windsor Redding and four other facilities in July 2016, citing the poor track records of many facilities “owned, managed, or operated, either directly or indirectly, by the applicant,” according to 22-page denial letters addressed to Rechnitz. 

Two departments within state government record Rechnitz’ relationship to the Redding facility differently. Rechnitz is listed as the owner of Windsor Redding in cost reports filed with the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development in 2020. But his name is not on the California Department of Public Health’s consumer website, Cal Health Find, which identifies the facility’s owner/operator as Lee Samson, Lawrence Feigen and two limited liability companies with the Windsor brand. Windsor still operates nursing homes in California and Arizona, according to its website. 

The lawsuit, filed last month in Shasta County Superior Court, also alleges that Rechnitz and his “management operating companies” circumvented the state’s denial by creating a “joint venture” with Samson and a limited liability company affiliated with S&F Management. 

S&F is a West Hollywood-based company that provides “professional consulting services to Windsor facilities,” Todd Andrews, senior vice president of S&F Management Co., told CalMatters in March. When asked about the lawsuit last week, Andrews said that his company and its president and CEO, Lee Samson — also named as defendants in the complaint — have had no day-to-day involvement with the facility. He said the state “has not transferred the license in over seven years,” despite repeated appeals, so Windsor remains the licensee.

A spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health declined to comment on the case because it is pending litigation. 

Nursing home oversight in legislative crosshairs

Assemblymember Muratsuchi authored a bill earlier this year that would forbid the use of management agreements to “circumvent state licensure requirements” and would require owners and operators to get approval from the California Department of Public Health before acquiring, operating or managing a nursing home.

Long before COVID-19, Windsor Redding had a history of care problems. Given that, the complaint says, “it was foreseeable that Defendants would continue to neglect and harm more residents during the pandemic.”

In August 2020, state inspectors cited the facility for admitting patients who were negative for COVID-19 into rooms with residents who were positive for the virus, or had been exposed. 

COVID outbreak sweeps through home

By the next month, the facility had an outbreak — 60 of the 83 residents contracted the virus, and “approximately 24” passed away from complications related to COVID-19, the complaint states. (The state identified 23 COVID-related deaths at the home last fall and winter.)

In September 2020, the California Department of Public Health conducted an inspection of the facility and declared an “immediate jeopardy,” the level of deficiency reserved for the most egregious incidents in nursing homes that could cause serious injury or death. 

Among the inspection’s findings: the facility had punitive sick leave policies. Two staff members reported being told to come into work despite having symptoms of COVID-19, including “body aches, chills, sweats and respiratory symptoms” for one and “loss of taste, lethargy, and cough” for the other, according to a Sept. 25, 2020, inspection report. Both eventually tested positive. 

The complaint alleges, further, that the defendants have a “general business practice” of understaffing the facility. 

“It makes dying alone even lonelier,” said Wendy York, a Sacramento attorney specializing in nursing home abuse whose firm is among three representing the families.  “My heart gets heavy when I think of them in this unit, in this environment.”

Tony Chicotel, staff attorney for California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, said he holds the state partly to account for the outbreak.

“They know this operator is running the facility, and they’re not doing anything about it,” he said. “In a sense, the state could be co-defendants in this case.”

Trenerry family say its goodbyes

The last time Johanna Trenerry was able to see her husband, Art, was the night of Sept. 25, 2020, after he tested positive for COVID. She and some of her children were allotted 15 minutes each to see him. During those minutes, Trenerry sat next to her husband, holding his hand. Right before she left, she raised her face shield and kissed him. He died a week and a half later.

Johanna Trenerry is Catholic, and believes that Art is with God now, and that they’re both keeping an eye on her. Ever since the couple met as 16-year-olds on a blind date, Art had taken care of her, always supporting her “crazy ideas.” She told him she wanted a big family, a farm and a two-story house. “Ok, hon, whatever you want, you can have,” he said. 

He worked as a stationary engineer, doing maintenance at the local hospital in Redding, and served as a volunteer firefighter and on the local water board. They raised eight children together on a 14-acre farm in Happy Valley, a small community outside town. His family describes him as quiet, but funny, always ready to help a neighbor and so devoted to his grandchildren that he built them a miniature railroad track on the property.

When a friend down the street said that her own husband was unwell, Johanna didn’t mince words.

“Don’t send him to a rest home,” she told her friend. “He’ll die there.”