The Frankowski Firm is investigating potential claims against Kyusun Kim and his former employer,  Independent Financial Group, LLC, of San Diego, California, following FINRA’s decision to permanently bar Mr. Kim from the securities industry. 

According to FINRA’s Acceptance and Consent findings against Mr. Kim, Mr. Kyusun Kim made unsuitable recommendations to many of his senior customers, advising them to concentrate their retirement assets and liquid net worth in speculative and illiquid securities. Mr. Kim was also found to have falsely inflated the net worth figures of several customers on their new account forms to make them appear eligible to purchase speculative and alternative investments. 

FINRA found that Mr. Kim advised senior investors to liquidate their 401(k) and pension plans and invest in alternative investments, such as non-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) and structured products involving derivative investments. The customers involved had little to no investment experience outside of their retirement plans and had never purchased alternative investments. All of the customers likewise had moderate or conservative investment objectives and risk tolerances. Mr. Kim’s recommendations caused the customers’ accounts to be over-concentrated in these illiquid and speculative investments. The investments were found to be wholly unsuitable for Mr. Kim’s clients and self-serving for Mr. Kim.

A review of Mr. Kim’s FINRA BrokerCheck report reveals a staggering twenty-three customer complaints against Mr. Kim, twenty-two of which were made within the past eight years. The complaints include allegations similar to the FINRA regulatory findings which resulted in Mr. Kim’s ban, including unsuitability, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and violations of securities laws and regulations in the sales of investments including variable annuities and structured products. The allegations total millions of dollars in customer losses.

If you or someone you know lost money as a client of Kyusun Kym or Independent Financial Group, LLC due to unsuitable, misrepresented, or unauthorized transactions, please call the Frankowski Firm at 888.741.7503 or fill out this contact form.