Jodie L. Miller, VALIC Financial Advisors, and LPL Financial
Have you lost money with financial advisor Jodie L. Miller from Tampa, Florida? We currently represent investors who lost money in investments with Tri-Med Corporation. The claims were brought against the firms that Jodie Miller previously was affiliated with, including VALIC Financial Advisors and LPL Financial.
FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, previously brought a regulatory complaint against Jodie Miller. FINRA alleges that Miller sold $764,000 worth of notes or “Letters of Protection” issued by a company called Tri-Med Corporation. It is alleged that Miller earned over $38,000 in commissions for these sales. According to the complaint, “Tri-Med purchased from medical providers, at discounted rates, outstanding receivables relating to personal injury claims, with the expectation that insurers would pay the entire receivable once the claim was resolved through litigation or settlement”.
FINRA alleges that Jodie Miller did not have approval to sell these Tri-Med investments from her brokerage firms, first VALIC Financial Advisors, and then LPL Financial. FINRA also alleges that she did no adequate due diligence into these investments, and that she had no reasonable basis to make recommendations to clients to invest in them, in violation of FINRA Rule 2111 (regarding suitability). Unfortunately, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation brought a regulatory complaint against Tri-Med Corporation, believing that Tri-Med is simply a Ponzi Scheme. FINRA suspended Jodie Miller 18 months for this conduct, it ordered her to disgorge the commissions she made on these sales, and she was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine.
On July 15, 2015, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported that some of the creditors of Tri-Med are trying to force the company into involuntary bankruptcy. Tri-Med is currently in a receivership, with Burton Wiand acting as the Tri-Med receiver. The receiver is fighting to keep the case out of bankruptcy.
Jodie Miller was a registered representative of VALIC Financial Advisors from May 2009 to September 2012, and with LPL Financial from September 2012 to January 2013. Miller was also affiliated with Bay Area Wealth Management in Tampa.
Broker-dealers like VALIC Financial Advisors and LPL Financial have a responsibility to adequately supervise all representatives who are registered through their firm, including investments sold by their registered representatives. Broker-dealers also must take steps to ensure that their financial advisors follow all securities rules and regulations, as well as internal firm policies. When broker-dealers fail to adequately supervise their registered representatives, they may be liable for investment losses sustained by customers.
Israels & Neuman PLC is a securities and investment fraud law firm with offices in Denver, Colorado and the Seattle area. We represent investors in FINRA arbitration proceedings in all 50 states, including investors in Florida, and attorney David Neuman is licensed to practice law in Florida. We currently represent investors who lost money in Tri-Med in claims against VALIC Financial Advisors and LPL Financial. Our attorneys have represented over one thousand investors against many brokerage firms in the past, including LPL Financial, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney, Stifel Nicolaus & Company, UBS Financial Services, Oppenheimer, Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo Advisors, Ameriprise Financial Services, Raymond James Financial Services, ProEquities, Securities America, National Securities Corp., and many others.
If your advisor recommended investments with Jodie Miller to Tri-Med Corporation, please Contact Us at 720-599-3505 for a free evaluation of your case.