[ad_1]
Mark Lamkin said all was well for years while his independent firm managed about $450 million through a partnership with LPL Financial.
He later discovered that two of his colleagues were arranging clients for personal investments that were allegedly inappropriate.Then began a chain of events that eventually led to
Meanwhile, the lawsuit alleges, some of his former colleagues
“For the last five years, we’ve had to completely start over because of the LPL,” Lamkin said. Mr. Lamkin has returned to managing nearly $250 million through a partnership with Calton & Associates, an independent broker-dealer and advisory firm.
read more:
“That book represented 18 years of my life’s work,” Lamkin added. “I probably could have sold it and retired. That’s why I’m upset.”
Mr. Lamkin’s lawsuit accuses LPL, the largest independent broker-dealer in the United States, of four counts of tortious interference with customers, advisors and others. Lamkin’s attorneys, John Cox and Scott Spiegel of Louisville, Kentucky-based Lynch Cox Gilman & Goodman, did not respond to requests for comment. So was LPL.
Bill Singer is a longtime securities attorney who recently retired from the
“What we end up with is a marriage of convenience,” Singer said in an email. “However, as with many marriages, when disagreements arise, involuntary divorces tend to occur.”
He said many companies in Lamkin’s situation believe that their independent status allows them to leave their broker-dealer affiliates with little resistance.
“The reality is often very different, especially when the ‘team’ running the recruitment agency has divisions, where some people want to leave and others want to stay,” Singer said. .
Lamkin, who was in the LPL from 2001 to 2018, said everything was going well until he learned:
There were a total of 14 disclosures on Don Woods’ record, most of which related to allegations of improper investments. Jason Woods has disclosed nine information alleging similar violations.
Lamkin, whose trade publication Financial Advisor IQ first reported the lawsuit, said he fired the two after discovering the alleged inappropriate conduct. He immediately began working with outside lawyers to get affected customers compensated for their losses. At one point, he said, LPL representatives asked if they were “negotiating against us,” and responded that they wanted to resolve disputes with customers.
“Then they subjected me to three audits in one year,” Lamkin said. “They hired a former FBI agent to try to find something to tear down my office. And within a year, they were giving me a six-figure bonus to stay. I gave you.”
Mr. Lamkin was fired from LPL on August 17, 2018 after it was discovered that he had not properly reported loans he received from customers. Mr. Lamkin’s lawsuit states that the loan was arranged on advice from LPL, which assured him that he did not need to report the loan.
“These allegations were concocted as a hoax to justify LPL’s efforts to damage my reputation and, as a result, take away my customers,” Lamkin wrote in the article.
While this was happening, Lamkin was considering moving his practice to another location, according to the complaint. According to the complaint, Lamkin received repeated assurances from former colleagues Bruce Lindsay, Jonathan Upton and Gregory Smith that they would stay with him during the transfer period.
His lawsuit accuses LPL of “creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation” that kept the three men from leaving despite what they said. It also alleges that Lindsey, Upton and Smith were “encouraging Lamkin to leave while preparing to steal everything.” [Lamkin Wealth Management’s] work. “
Lamkin said he is suing the three individuals individually in state court and is pursuing claims against LPL through FINRA. Lindsay, Upton and Smith are all listed as reps.
Lamkin said two of his other colleagues were fired from LPL shortly after him. Christopher “Neil” Watkins was released in November 2018 after being charged with aiding and abetting the distribution of consulting fees to unregistered persons. In response to him,
Mr. Waktins is currently a principal at Magnate Advisory Services, an investment advisory firm in Louisville. Attempts to contact him at the company were unsuccessful.
Doug Obradovich, who still works with Mr. Lamkin, was also fired from LPL in November 2018 after being accused of aiding and abetting the distribution of commissions to unregistered parties.Obradovic denied the allegations.
Lamkin said LPL is seeking reimbursement for money it claims it still owes from the company on promissory notes. Lamkin said the amount at issue in the dispute is about $600,000.
Lamkin’s own BrokerCheck page lists seven disclosures, most of them related to his time at LPL. He settled a dispute over unreported loans in March 2020 for $7,500. The loans, totaling nearly $1.3 million, were made to Mr. Lamkin, his wife, and an LLC of which Mr. Lamkin was a member, according to BrokerCheck.
Lamkin agreed in May 2019 to pay $1,000 to resolve charges brought by Kentucky securities regulators that he operated a business in the state without properly registering. Mr. Lamkin says in his lawsuit that the disputed transactions occurred at a time when he was leaving LPL and was, in fact, still managing his operations. In December 2000, he resigned from PNC Securities after failing to report to company management that an employee had accessed his bank account without his knowledge.
Lamkin said he believes the lesson from his case is that independent advisors should choose carefully which firms they work with.
“I love the independent model and think it’s great,” Lamkin said. “But you should check the track record of the company you choose to work with.”
[ad_2]
Source link
