Thanks for the heads up guys. I placed a stop payment on the check I sent on the 21st. I've tried to call Pinnacle the last two days and none of my calls have been returned.
Thanks Again!
We did a write up on Pinnacle on our Real Estate Blog . . . check it out:
RE: why would anyone post who has had good results with pinnacle?
I have invested with them, just received 25% 2 days ago. I have watched this because like many of the others I have definately been questioning the legitimancy of Pinnacle and the sanity of my own judgement. Today with the fraud inquiry I am finally posting. I called a buddy today who was going to invest, after I received my investment return, and had him hold off. I just got off the phone with Pinnacle, they answered the phone and connected me to Hope who has handled my accounting. She confirmed the fraud inquiry, attorney resignation and no new investors. She transferred me to my "account representative" Carey Mcneilly and I received his voicemail. According to Hope they are going to send me and other investors some paperwork regarding the new structure ie: consulting, within a few days. I also received a fed ex today detailing the account transfer from two days ago and my principle transfer. Todays info about the fraud is definately a disappointment, but in hindsight almost expected I guess. Hopefully Pinnacle will surprise us all and somehow not screw all of us investors.
I got a call yesterday from Pinnacle's Account Dept. I was surprised, to say the least - they were calling to verify the address and the amount of return due next week. The only difference this time was they informed that they cannot roll the money and that they will be closing the account. They will terminate this offering in favour of the Consulting offering, but will continue to honor all existing 60 day partnership, including the returns.
They were going to deduct 6% for all returns made this year from this return - I was just happy to get the money back. I still have another account that wont be maturing till end of Oct...will just have to wait and see...
Thank you everyone for your updates. Your feedback continues to be helpful to others.
I thought it might be a scam and I posted that on Sept 5th when my initial investigation showed that the properties Pinnacle had in the marketing materials they sent out to their prospective investors were just being flipped to themselves under different entity names. Come on, how STUPID is the scammer ( Pinnacle )that any person with 2 clicks of a computer can see that Pinnicle did not even sell the properties that they send out on their marketing materials. This PONZI scheme was very easy to spot, It seems that Pinnacle did not even make a concerted effort to even try and make a viable paper trail that they actually bought and sold properties. I'm glad they are BUSTED and that no one else will get scammed.
I didn't take the time to read the report, but the allegations alone are enough to keep me from investing my money with those people. I didn't put it into my original list, but investors should also steer clear of companies that have "related transactions" with owners / partners. Think about it this way: if I own a property that is a real steal why should I sell it to my company and let them make profit? I would rather sell it for full retail!
Thanks for all the feedback, it is both educating and very discouraging. I did recently invest the minimal amount as of Sept 1st and the picture is not very pretty for Pinnacle based on what I have read. Any advice on what my next step should be or recourse I should take with the company now that they are being investigated. Do I need to arrange a lawyer? I am new at this and probably jumped in before doing enough homework but based more on "others" that had successfully received their 25% returns. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks
I am not certain, but based on the number of people involved there will likely be a class action suit filed against Pinnacle. If this happens then don't bother with getting your own lawyer. If there isn't already a lawyer leading a class action suit then you could approach one and ask them to take the case. I imagine a lot of firms would be chomping at the bit to sue Pinnacle.
Joshua,
As one of the Pinncle investors I want to thank you for leaving this Forum open to the public. Daily updates are helpful at a time like this! From 10,000 hits it appears as though a LOT of people are following this company.
Call me naive but everyone I've ever dealt with there strikes me as above the board. They seem to be trying their best to answer everybody's questions and act in good faith.
Just today I received a Fed Ex letter from them on schedule detailing my account.
We'll just have to wait & see how this all plays out.
Thanks for your message. I've kept this open to help all of the current, past, and possible future Pinnacle investors out. It is important that there be a place to keep abreast of the latest news and information on the company.
I hope people can continue to share their experiences with the company here.
Sincerely,
I am also an investor with Pinnacle Development Partners. I have received 2 payouts so far and am due my 3rd on October 3rd. Will wait and see if this does come to pass. I have spoken with my rep there on numerous times and have visited the offices once as well and have never found anything suspect in my dealings with them. The payouts were always on time and I was given the option of taking just the gain or my entire investment back on both occasions. I was never approached about referring anyone to Pinnacle nor was I ever encouraged to increase my investment at anytime which would have raised red flags for me. I have read the Wall Street Journal article with the same concerns but until the jury is in I will wait and see what happens. A REIT I am still invested in for 4 years had a very unfavorable article come out about a year and a half ago and everybody wanted to bail. Turns out it was way overblown and I would have missed out on a nice return. Hopefully that will be the case here as well. Keeping the fingers crossed.
I am a pinnacle investor since last year and over a period of time, invested close to 200k - although I have recovered most of it as profit, I am concerned about things that are aledged about pinnacle. I recently received their newsletter that says that investors have invested over $80m with Pinnacle. When I talked to Tamika Henson of pinnacle last week, I was told that they will be phasing out the current 60-day partnership program in six months and everything in the intreme will work like it has been. After hearing all the allegations against pinnacle, I left voicemails to pinnacle today but nobody from pinnacle have got back to me yet. I have refered atleast half a dozen people and know dozen people who have invested in Pinnacle - most of whom have recoved their original investment - I talked to some of them and they all are worried sick. One of my friend was able to talk to pinnacle staff and was informed that pinnacle has decided to return all the money along with 60day return as partnership agreements come up for renewal - and quite a few investors have got their money returned since last friday. That is the latest news I know. They have not put their consulting program on hold yet - they seem so confident of their business model that they are planning to replicate it across cities. In order to make that program sucessful, pinnacle will have to create credibility with current set of investors by returning their money. Currently Pinnacle is claiming to do just that. My money is due in october. Still a long way to go. Investors should keep us posted.
My return is due a week from tomorrow and I am also waiting with baited breath. I left a message today with my rep and got a call back within the hour. He assured me pretty much as you described that they will be returning the principal and the gains as the contracts come up. Investors will have the option to invest in the consultanting side but the origianl principal/gain will be returned and then you can decide. I have a 2nd account due on Oct 19th so would love to see a crystal ball for the end of this month(ng).
I am also a current investor of Pinnacle and have received my 1st return already. Next return will be by end of October. I was able to contact my rep this morning. I thought no one will answer the phone as it was ringing for a while. Fortunately I got connected and I received the same explanation as discussed on this thread. It is really difficult to make a judgement at this point since Pinnacle is still fulfilling its promises as of this time. I just have this gut feeling Pinnacle will pay off all standing obligations toward the return of all investments to avoid any legal repercussions..And probably go forward with the consulting firm that it is planning. Here's hoping for the best for all of us investors and for Pinnacle as well. As what everybody else is doing, let's wait and see.
By the way, a very big thank you to the Site Admin for keeping this thread open. The other forum on another website have always locked up any discussion on this matter. I think this discussion will benefit everyone regardless of their involvement with Pinnacle. Whatever the outcome of the investigation, it will be a great learning experience for all of us. Thanks Admin for being so open minded on issues like this.
Also By the Way, if any Pinnacle investors on this thread are due their monies this week, would you be so kind to post whether it was / wasn't received. I will do the same next week when/if it comes. Thanks and good luck to everyone.
Your welcome. Thank you for your participation and for sharing your experiences. Let anyone you know who has invested or who is interested in investing with the company that they can come and join in on the conversation.
All my best.
From the current actions on all parties involved, it would be my best guess that while Pinnacle was caught with their pants down for not properly doing their homework and having the proper licensing, they are, at the very least, trying to keep from getting into further legal poo by cashing out everyones account, making it "right" with everyone so that there aren't any precedents to deter their next phase, and hopefully to be bowing out with professional grace, rather than slamming the doors and running.
The only concerns "could" be; if they haven't actually sold any of their properties to the outside world, and are sitting on a bunch of titles to various land and buildings, and they pay off all investors their initials and the dividends, wouldn't that exceed the amount stashed in banks, so basically the last ones to receive their payouts will be the ones at the bottom of the list and potentially the ones who could have nothing in the end?
Also, if things are/were done as they said it would, we are all title holders on each one of the properties that we are listed in, and PInnacle can't sell off the property until all deed holders have been satisfied. Otherwise when a title search is done at closing, there would be outstanding debts against the property and it couldn't be conveyed to the new owner.
Pinnacle will NOT be renewing the accounts as they come up for renewals, and will be sending both dividends and the initials back to the investor.
One important point to consider when you are called and asked how you want your final payout; most banks place a hold on deposits larger than 10k due to Federal regs pertaining to the Terrorist Act. That hold is usually 14 to 21 days. And in that hold time where you don't have access to your funds, it is possible that the funds that back up those checks could be washed down thereby resulting in a " No Funds Available" situation when its time for the check to hit the clearinghouse. To counter this potential disaster, you could take the check to your local Wachovia or Bank of America branch ( whichever bank YOUR particular check is drawn on since Pinnacle uses 3 or 4 different ones ) and have it converted to a bank cashiers check and then you could take it and have it directly deposited into your own bank with no holding period involved. OR, you could request that the final funds be directly wired into your bank account, and again there would be no waiting perior. The only "downside" to either of these methods; the $ 1.00 for the cost of the cashiers check, or the $ 40 bank-wire-fee. BUT, its a small price to pay to get instant access to the funds to avoid an empty disbursement account situation!
Here's hoping to a positive outcome for all of us!
I jut talked to Stphene of pinnacle. I tried to get my money out before 60-day term and I was told that pinnacle will not be able to break the agreement to honor such request. She also claimed that all the allegations are just that - allegations. So far, pinnacle is under no investigation or inquiry as no such notification has been officially received by it - pinnalce plans to deal with them when such matter arrises. So far over 150 investors have shown interest in phasing into their next venture of consulting. And that they have enough money to pay every investor to the last penny. I advised her to send out a letter to all investors to address the allegations as they are serious ones and can undermine investor confidence and their next venture - I do not know if pinnacle will do that - but if pinnacle honors its existing comittments to investors, it will earn them immence goodwil from investors and their new venture will start off with flying colors.
I do not know if this is true, but I heard from a fellow investor that pinnacle will not be sending out final payment by wire-transfer but by check only.
There is a serious concern that at some point, pinnacle might run out of cash to pay out current investors. Pinnalce says don't worry. We just have to wait and watch.
IM AN INVESTER W/PINN. AND I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS. I HAVE HAD AT LEAST 5 PARTNERS, WHICH HAVE RECEIVED THERE RETURN. 2 OF THEM JUST RECEIVED THERE FUNDS YESTERDAY. 1 INVESTED 10K & THE OTHER 5k. NOT ALL INVESTMENTS ARE FOR EVERYONE. OR ELSE THE HOLE WORLD WILL BE DOING IT. I ASK ALL U PEOPLE THAT HAVE DOUBTS. IF THIS WAS YOUR BUS. HOW WOULD U DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY? AS AN OWNER NOT AN INVESTER.
I BELIEVE PINNACLE HAS, PROFESSIONAL ETHICS TO CARRY OUT THERE BUS. THE MINUTE U TAKE YOUR $$ AND PUT IT IN ANYONE ELSES HAND, U ARE ALREADY AT RISK.
Thx fabricator on the options to cash the check...and you are right, they no longer do wire transfers. The explanation was to avoid the hassel involved with amounts greater than $10,000 and ofcourse the cost as well.
I am cautiously optimistic on this whole thing. At most, they are guilty of not having proper licenses and getting questionable advice on the Partnership as opposed to LLC to avoid SEC filing. They might end up suing their old attorney on this. The fact that the Phase I will be sold to Phase II partnership and so forth - well they have been upfront about it...atleast for the latter investors. This would result in all these phases having registered to the same mailing address which is Pinnacle. There is the question of if these guys ever managed to sell any of these porperties once they are complete.
Either ways, all of them knew exactly how this would end when the WSJ news broke. They must have known of this a couple of weeks ago and had a cohesive response to what the next steps would be...none of the conflicting resposes of the past couple of weeks...the thing is, only they know how this would end...we can only wish for the best.
I am expecting my check fedexed this week. I'll keep you all posted.
MTH.