Home » Biography Search » Biographies » Christopher W. Gerold

Christopher Gerold is a litigator in the Securities Litigation and Regulation Group at Wolff & Samson. His primary practice is representing and counseling clients in connection with securities litigation and regulatory matters. Chris defends broker-dealers in private arbitrations and court actions, and represents clients responding to inquiries and investigations by securities regulators, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and state authorities. Chris also performs internal investigations for broker-dealers and practices general commercial litigation.

For five years prior to joining the firm, Chris was a Deputy Attorney General in the Securities Fraud Prosecution Section of the New Jersey Attorney General's Office. Chris was the lead trial counsel for the New Jersey Bureau of Securities in numerous civil prosecutions for securities fraud, market manipulation and registration violations. His duties provided him with substantial experience investigating securities law violations and counseling the Bureau on complex securities matters.

His experiences as a Deputy Attorney General include:

• A penny stock fraud and market manipulation matter in New Jersey Superior Court – after an eleven day trial judgment was awarded to the Bureau for over $4.6 million in restitution and $500,000 in penalties.
• A sale of unregistered securities by unregistered agents matter in New Jersey Administrative Court – after a two day hearing judgment was awarded to the Bureau for $1.25 million in penalties.
• A fraudulent sale of unregistered securities by unregistered agents matter in New Jersey Superior Court – after a four day trial judgment was awarded for over $7.9 million in restitution and $500,000 in penalties.
• An unregistered real estate investment / Ponzi scheme matter in New Jersey Superior Court – summary judgment was awarded for $34 million in restitution and over $1 million in penalties, which resulted in over $10 million being returned to investors.
• A national investigation into the sale of Auction Rate Securities, which eventually led to a settlement amongst the states, SEC, and the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”). 
• Investigations and settlements of cases involving market timing of mutual funds, broker / dealer compliance – including failure to supervise agents, failure to maintain adequate books and records, investor suitability, and selling away. 
• Coordinated Bureau investigations with parallel investigations by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, SEC, FINRA, Federal Bureau of Investigations ("FBI"), Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"), U.S. Postal Inspection Service, New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, New Jersey Division of Banking and Insurance, and various county prosecutors’ offices. 

Prior to attending law school, Chris was a Series 7 and 63 registered Financial Advisor at a financial services company.