D. Daxton White's  Instablog

The White Law Group is investigating potential FINRA arbitration claims involving investments offered by True North Financial Corporation.

True North Finance Corporation (f/k/a CS Financing Corporation) is a SEC-registered real estate finance company based in Minneapolis. From November 2006 to November 2008, True North issued notes registered with the SEC.

In 2010, the SEC sued True North Finance Corporation (and other related individuals and entities) for alleged fraud. According to the SEC's complaint, True North overstated its revenue by as much as 99% in its filings with the SEC in 2008 and 2009. The SEC also alleged that True North overstated its revenue on the only two investments it ever made - a purchase of unsecured notes issued by Assured Financial, a real estate lender affiliated with Hennessey Financial, and a line of credit to Real Equity Solutions, a Marin County, California real estate lender.

The White Law Group is investigating the liability that brokerage firms may have for recommending True North investments.

Brokerage firms have a fiduciary duty to their clients to provide adequate due diligence on any investment offered. Based on what is now known about the True North fund, it appears that the firms that sold the investment failed to perform adequate due diligence on the offering.

For more information on The White Law Group's investigation, visit http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com/2013/05/09/recovery-of-true-north-investment-losses/

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

If you invested in TNP Strategic Retail Trust or another Thompson National Properties investment, the following information may be of assistance to you.

According to their website, TNP Strategic Retail Trust primarily invests in income producing retail properties throughout the Western United States, and in real estate assets such as mortgages, mezzanine, bridge, and other commercial real estate loans.

The TNP Strategic Retail Trust is organized as an UPREIT and operates through an operating partnership, TNP Strategic Retail Operating Partnership, LP (the term UPREIT is short for Umbrella Partnership Real Estate Investment Trust).

According to TNP Strategic Retail Trust's website, the "UPREIT structure gives us an advantage in acquiring desired properties from persons who may not otherwise sell their properties because of unfavorable tax results."

In a recent SEC Filing, the TNP Strategic Retail Trust announced that they "may not be in compliance with certain provisions related to two secured loans totaling approximately $67.2 million." As a result of the loan default the redemption program was suspended, and distributions were reduced to quarterly payments as opposed to monthly payments.

In February 2013, the REIT announced that 88,966,650.25 common shares of the REIT were unsold.

The White Law Group is investigating potential FINRA arbitration claims against the brokerage firms that recommending Thompson National Properties investments. Despite the numerous risks, it appears that many broker-dealers may have misrepresented TNP Strategic Retail Trust to their clients.

Broker-dealers have a fiduciary duty to perform adequate due diligence on any investment. The Financial Industry Regulator Authority (FINRA) requires that broker-dealer fully disclose all the risk in any investment when making recommendations, and ensure that the investment is suitable given their clients age, risk tolerance, financial objectives, net worth, and investment experience.

For more information on the firm's investigation, visit: http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com/2013/03/18/update-on-securities-fraud-investigation-involving-tnp-strategic-retail-trust-and-thompson-national-properties-investments/

To learn more about The White Law Group, visit http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

The White Law Group continues to investigate investors' ability to recover their losses in Cornerstone Real Estate Funds' various REITs and other investments through the FINRA arbitration process.

Cornerstone Real Estate Funds is a real estate company based in Irvine, California that primarily deals with the acquisition and management of healthcare real estate.

The company has had several private placement offerings over the last few years that have been problematic for investors, including Cornerstone Core Properties REIT, Cornerstone Healthcare REIT and CIP Leveraged Fund.

Prior to making recommendations to an individual investor, brokerage firms are required to disclose all the risks of an investment. A brokerage firm should only recommend an investment if the investment is suitable for an individual investor given their age, investment objections, investment experience and risk tolerance.

Brokerage firms that do not perform adequate due diligence on an investment and/or make unsuitable recommendations can be held accountable for investment losses through securities arbitration.

The following is a breakdown of the status of the most problematic Cornerstone offerings:

(1) Cornerstone Core Properties

Cornerstone Core Properties REIT, Inc., incorporated in 2004, is a non-trade REIT that primarily invests in commercial real estate through the United States. The majority of the REITs properties are multi-tenant industrial properties and healthcare facilities. Cornerstone REIT is sponsored by Cornerstone Realty Advisors, LLC.

According to the REITs' most recent quarterly report (form 10-K), as of Sept. 30, 2012, the common stock value is $0.001 on approximately 290 million authorized common stock shares.

(2) CIP Leveraged Fund

According to online reports, CIP Leveraged Fund was sold from 2004 to 2009.

Upon information and belief, CIP Leveraged Fund was established by Cornerstone to raise funds for other Cornerstone offerings and has declined substantially in value.

(3) Cornerstone Healthcare REIT

According to online reports, Cornerstone Healthcare Plus began raising capital in August 2007 and has raised an estimated$130 million in investor equity.

Cornerstone Healthcare REIT is a real estate investment trust (REIT), which invests exclusively in healthcare related real estate, and is committed to delivering strong and reliable returns to investors.

Unfortunately for investors, it appears that this REIT has also declined substantially in value.

For more information in to The White Law Group's Cornerstone investigation, visit http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com/2013/02/13/update-on-securities-fraud-investigation-involving-cornerstone-real-estate-funds/.

The White Law Group is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, and investor protection law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.

For a free consultation with a securities attorney, please call The White Law Group's Chicago office at 312/238-9650.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.