The Frankowski Firm is investigating potential claims against LPL Financial, LLC and its former broker Charles Fackrell, of Yadkinville, North Carolina, following a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) arbitration award of $462,000 against the firm based on Mr. Fackrell’s fraudulent Ponzi scheme and unsuitable trading in LPL customers’ accounts.

Mr. Fackrell accepted a permanent bar from the securities industry by FINRA in February 2015 based on his failure to cooperate FINRA’s investigation into allegations that Mr. Fackrell converted customer funds and sold private securities offerings away from LPL without the firm’s knowledge or approval.

Mr. Fackrell also pled guilty to criminal charges brought against him for securities fraud and was sentenced to more than five years in prison for running a $1.4 million Ponzi scheme while employed at LPL. Mr. Fackrell was also ordered to serve three years under court supervision and pay nearly $820,000 in restitution to former clients. In October, the State of North Carolina fined LPL Financial $25,000 and ordered LPL to reimburse the state $270,000 for the cost of its investigation into Fackrell’s Ponzi Scheme.

The customer complaint which formed the basis of the $462,000 arbitration award included allegations related to the Ponzi scheme and alleged that Fackrell sold variable annuities to the claimants (retirees who had worked as a mechanic, machinist, and horse trainer) without disclosing the annuities’ high commission structure. The claimants also alleged that Mr. Fackrell over-concentrated their portfolios in energy stocks. The complaint included claims that LPL had “completely failed to supervise” Mr. Fackrell’s office and that adequate supervision would have prevented the claimants’ losses as well as the massive Ponzi scheme operation.

If you or someone you know lost money in an LPL account as the result of unsuitable or misrepresented investments, or stockbroker fraud, please call the Frankowski Firm at 888.741.7503 or fill out this contact form.