Financial scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and even experienced investors can find themselves caught in schemes designed to exploit trust, relationships, and fear. Investor rights attorney Courtney Werning joins Steve to explain how criminals use cryptocurrency, social media, dating apps, and artificial intelligence to deceive victims and gain access to their savings. She breaks down the mechanics of so-called “pig butchering” scams, in which fraudsters build relationships over weeks or months before introducing fraudulent investment opportunities, and explains why these schemes can be especially devastating for older adults and retirees.
Courtney also discusses government and family impersonation scams, fraudulent calls from supposed cryptocurrency exchange representatives, and the warning signs that should prompt people to stop and verify who they're dealing with. She shares practical precautions, including independently checking financial professionals' credentials, establishing trusted contacts on investment accounts, and creating family verification procedures. For those who have already lost money, Courtney explains the importance of reporting the fraud, preserving communications and transaction records, and seeking legal guidance to determine whether a financial institution may bear responsibility for preventable losses.
Courtney M. Werning is a Principal at Meyer Wilson Werning, a law firm focused on investor rights, securities litigation, and class actions. She represents individual and institutional investors in disputes involving investment advisers, brokerage firms, cryptocurrency fraud, unsuitable investment strategies, Ponzi schemes, misrepresentation, and elder financial exploitation.
Courtney joined the firm as a law clerk in 2010 and graduated magna cum laude from Capital University Law School in 2012. Throughout her legal career, she has represented investors in litigation and arbitration proceedings before organizations including the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the National Futures Association, and the American Arbitration Association.
Her practice has increasingly focused on cryptocurrency-related fraud, digital asset disputes, and the responsibilities of financial institutions when customers become targets of sophisticated scams. She has helped pursue recovery for victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud and has handled matters involving significant investor losses.
Courtney is active in the Public Investors Advocate Bar Association (PIABA), where she serves in a leadership role, and previously served on FINRA's National Arbitration and Mediation Committee. She has also written about investor protection issues for legal and securities organizations and contributed to her firm's fraud and investigation publications.
Learn more about Courtney and Meyer Wilson Werning at InvestorClaims.com.