How can you make sure your financial advisor is above board? NBC CT Responds has tips for consumers.
When you invest with a financial advisor, you trust them to guide you toward your financial goals.
But retirees, including those living right here in Connecticut, say they woke up one morning to find their investment accounts drained.
“We gave him everything we owned. Everything. He just destroyed us,” said Frances Serdjuk, of Winter Haven, Florida.
She and her husband believed they saved carefully for retirement, but say they woke up one morning to their entire life’s savings lost, $350,000.
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Their story is similar to that of at least five other couples and three individual investors.
We gave him everything we owned. Everything. He just destroyed us.
Frances Serdjuk, Winter Haven, Florida
Attorney Joshua Kons’ Simsbury-based investment fraud litigation practice is representing these 15 people and said all of them are 60 years old or older.
NBC CT Responds
Some of those allegedly impacted live right here in Connecticut, he says.
“I have done over 500 securities fraud cases and,” said Kons, “It’s the worst I’ve ever seen I think.”
Kons’ clients have filed a claim with the Finance Industry Regulatory Authority — or FINRA — with the hopes of recovering money through arbitration with their financial advisor, Vincent Camarda, his Long Island-based firm A.G. Morgan, and the company’s former compliance officer.
Kons believes his clients’ losses total about $5 million and says he believes there are dozens of other people potentially impacted.
Kons says, based on stories from clients, it appears Camarda invested these clients’ retirement savings into a series of funds he owned and controlled and then invested that money into an apparent mining business, and now the money is gone.
“Precious retirement funds that were diverted to at best a speculative investment and at worst a fraud,” said Kons.
The Serdjuks and others listed in the complaint that was shared with NBC CT Responds say Camarda stressed these investments were “safe” and would support them in their senior years.
“We knew him for over 30 years. We trusted him,” said Serdjuk.
Pamela Hopkins said she asked the advisor to keep money safe to buy a house in Connecticut to live near her grandkids in retirement.
“He kept saying, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. No problem, no problem.’ When I actually went to search for the funds, I realized they don’t exist anymore,” said Hopkins, of New York, who says she lost $250,000.
NBC CT Responds reached out to Camarda’s lawyer, but haven’t heard back.
“I think this case really about an abuse of trust. Most of these people were longtime clients,” said Kons.
What can you do to find and vet a financial advisor?
“You find someone who’s successful in your mind and you ask them if they have a financial advisor who has performed for them over time,” said Rick Wells, a financial advisor with Baystate Financial.
He was referred to us by Kons.
Next, make sure to look up the advisor on BrokerCheck, FINRA’s free website and check on them regularly.
“If you type in that individual’s name, their work history will come up, any disclosures that are on their record,” said Wells.
A quick search of Camarda discloses that the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil action against him in 2022 for an alleged unregistered securities offering that raised more than $75 million.
We’ve reached out to Camarda’s lawyer about this pending case too.
What to look out for
Experts we spoke to say look for these red flags:
- Overpromising or guaranteeing high returns
- An unwillingness to show credentials or verify their fiduciary status.
- Are they listening to you and addressing your needs?
“It begins with whatever it is that you want for you and your family’s financial future,” said Wells.
He said, “You should feel understood.”
If you’re concerned or don’t feel comfortable about something, get another perspective from a trusted contact or a different advisor.
“There are a lot of elderly victims in this case and the elderly really could have used a second opinion before it was too late,” said Kons.
