California Gold Group Accused of Fraud in Class Action Lawsuit, State and Federal Investigations Follow
A Beverly Hills gold investment group is under federal investigation amid a brewing class action lawsuit. Oxford Gold Group is facing mounting allegations of fraud and deceptive practices as allegations emerge that it did not invest client funds appropriately and instead used the money for its own gain.
The Oxford Gold Group provides precious metals financial services. Among the products it offers are gold IRAs, Roth IRAs, and SEP IRAs. The company promised attractive returns on cash funds that were supposedly placed in precious metals retirement accounts.
While the company has grown a reputation among those interested in precious metals during the six years it has been accredited, the company is under scrutiny for allegedly victimizing its clients by doing anything but investing client funds into gold retirement accounts.
Clients began raising the alarm in late spring after many said there were issues with communication about their initial investments. One client, Grant Olsen, shared with local outlet ABC7 that he took $200,000 from his 401K to put into the gold retirement account. However, he was later notified by the affiliated depository company that the gold he allegedly invested in had never arrived.
Olsen was able to speak with the company CEO Pedram Granfar, and was told not to worry. Olsen would later receive a notice from the depository company stating it was no longer in business with the Oxford Gold Group. When Olsen went to the company's offices, he found an office building that was closed and appeared empty.
"It was like abandoned. They had a like a UPS package on the desk, and that was it, and everything was pretty much as clean as a whistle," Olsen said.
Olsen is not alone in his experience. A San Diego couple shares that they had a similar experience. Howard and Heather Short invested money with the Oxford Gold Group and were told that their precious metal assets would be deposited with an Ohio firm that specialized in self-directed investments of precious metals, cryptocurrency, and other assets. The firm, Equity Trust Co., Would eventually notify the Shorts in a letter that was sent out to many clients that the money they deposited with the Oxford Gold Group had not been properly recorded.
The letter explained, “Our records reflect that i) the metals you purchased from Oxford Gold were not yet fulfilled and delivered to your designated depository, and/or ii) that your Equity Trust account(s) has not received the cash proceeds from the precious metals that you sold to Oxford Gold.”
The Shorts would go on to become the lead plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit that was filed in late August in San Diego federal court. The lawsuit accuses the Oxford Gold Group and Equity Trust of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, violation of federal securities laws, and unfair competition.
The lawsuit alleges, “Business records generated at defendant Equity Trust Co. in connection with the transfer of the millions of dollars from investor accounts showed substantial and material amounts of precious metals transactions with OGG were not being settled.”
It’s not clear how much money the company collected from the clients it worked with, but millions of dollars are believed to have been misappropriated. Clients that worked with the Oxford Gold Group are located throughout 27 different states.
The Oxford Gold Group has since dissolved its operations, and executives of the company have not commented on the allegations or the lawsuit. There are dozens of reviews with over 95 complaints having been submitted to the Better Business Bureau.
Equity Trust Co., which claims it manages over $45 billion in assets, has publicly stated that it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
As a result of client complaints and the sudden dissolution of the company, both the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission have opened investigations into the Oxford Gold Group’s operations.
