Securities Lawyers Blog
The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that advisor James Bylenga (Bylenga) has engaged in a loan scheme with clients. Bylenga, formerly registered with LPL Financial LLC (LPL Financial) and operating out of Portage, Michigan, has been accused by a customer of soliciting funds for a loan. Bylenga operated out of the d/b/a firm The Retirement Wealth Management Group while working for LPL Financial.
In April 2019, FINRA brought an action and found that Bylenga consented to sanctions that he refused to produce documents and information requested by FINRA during the course of an investigation that commenced after his former member firm amended his termination reporting form. According to FINRA, LPL Financial’s an internal review determined that Bylenga may have received loans from his clients while associated with the firm.
Our law firm has significant experience bringing cases on behalf of defrauded victims when their advisors engage in loan or misappropriation of asset schemes. The provision of loans, promissory notes, and activities in the sale of unapproved investment products – is a practice known in the industry as “selling away” – a serious violation of the securities laws. In the industry the term selling away refers to when a financial advisor solicits investments in companies, promissory notes, or other securities that are not pre-approved by the broker’s affiliated firm. Sometimes those investments have some legitimacy but often times these types of investments can end up being Ponzi schemes or the advisor can be engaging in the conversion of funds.