The Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday that it has charged four former Atlanta-area brokers with fraudulently inducing federal employees to roll over holdings from their federal Thrift Savings Plan retirement accounts into higher-fee, variable annuity products.
The agency's action comes on the heels of its exam chief announcing in March that "carrying forward" into 2017, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examination's ReTIRE initiative would zero in on variable insurance products, target date funds, robo-advice, as well as how advisors and broker-dealers are adhering to their fiduciary duties. The agency noted as well the participation of the Enforcement Division's Broker-Dealer Task Force in detecting the scam.
According to the SEC's complaint, the brokers targeted federal employees nearing retirement with sizable amounts invested in the TSP through an entity called Federal Employee Benefits Counselors.
The complaint alleges that the brokers — Christopher S. Laws, Jonathan D. Cooke, Danny S. Hood and Brandon P. Long — "misled investors concerning significant details about the recommended variable annuity investment, including the associated fees and guaranteed investment returns."
The brokers allegedly fostered the misleading impression that they were in some way affiliated with or approved by the federal government.
"In some instances, investors were led to believe that their funds would be invested in a product that was offered, vetted or specifically selected by the TSP," the complaint states.
