The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards recently announced that it disciplined 24 advisors, and permanently barred 13 of them from ever again using the CFP designation.
The CFP Board revoked the CFP mark rights of the following advisors:
• Larry Lee Crawford of North Newton, Kans., for being named as defendant in an accounting fraud case that is the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaint.
• Martha J.C. Hawk of Blountville, Tenn., based on Hawk’s 2011 no-contest plea to one felony count of theft of between $10,000 and $60,000, and one count of forgery.
• David Lesnick of Goodyear, Ariz., based on Lesnick’s 1983 and 2010 Chapter 7 bankruptcies, his failure to cooperate with the CFP Board’s investigation and his alleged misuse of the CFP certification marks.
• Bruce Pivar of Naples, Fla., based on Pivar’s involvement in two 2010 Finra arbitrations, which alleged that Pivar recommended unsuitable investments and altered client documents.
• James E. Putnam of Menasha, Wis., based on alleged fraud violations that are the subject of an SEC civil lawsuit.
• William B. Smith of Grafton, Mass., based on allegations that Smith stole $1.2 million from a client.
• David P. Soper of Salt Lake City based on his 2009 Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing and his failure to cooperate with a CFP Board investigation.
• Barbara l. Steinberg of Livingston, N.J., based on her 1999 and 2009 Chapter 7 bankruptcies.
• Daniel J. Trolaro of East Hanover, N.J., based on allegations that Trolaro defrauded nine clients out of more than $1.9 million.
• Sandra M. Venetis of Branchburg, N.J., based on allegations that she misappropriated approximately $11 million by operating a fraudulent multi-million dollar offering.
• Richard M. Yacko of San Diego based on Yacko’s 1994 and 2009 Chapter 7 bankruptcies and his failure to cooperate with the CFP Board’s investigation.
• Russell Wade Young of Irvine, Calif., based on allegations that Young recommended unsuitable investments to a retired client, and made proprietary product recommendations that constituted a conflict of interest.
The CFP Board also suspended the rights of six advisors to use the CFP mark : Matthew J. Anderson of Austin, Tex.; Jeffrey G. Best of Westerville, Ohio; Philip C. McMorrow of Methuen, Mass.; Michael Ono of La Mirada, Calif.; R. Michael Slaughter of Charlotte, N.C.; and Frank S. Sparger of Norwood, N.C.
Letters of admonition went to David Dick of Tempe, Ariz.; David A. Dickson of Orangevale, Calif.; Timothy Higgins of Harrisburg, Pa.; Christopher T. Holcomb of Severen, Md.; and Ken J. Koubsky of Omaha, Neb.
If you held accounts with one of these individuals and sustained investment losses, please contact our law firm. You may be able to recover your losses by filing a claim or lawsuit against brokerage firms where these individuals may have been registered.