A former registered investment advisor from Wisconsin has been barred by the Securities and Exchange Commission for his alleged fraudulent conduct, according to Investment News.
The SEC announced that it has permanently barred Michael Shillin from associating with any broker, dealer, investment advisor, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent or nationally recognized statistical rating organization, and from participating in any offering of a penny stock.
In September 2021, the commission charged Shillin with defrauding at least 100 investment advisory clients, many of them elderly. According to the SEC’s complaint, “Shillin misrepresented that certain clients had successfully subscribed for IPO or pre-IPO shares in high-profile companies when they had not, and lied to clients about the true value of their investment portfolios.”
He was accused of encouraging several clients to roll over life insurance policies into new policies, causing them to sell securities to pay premiums for non-existent policies or policies that had fewer benefits than he claimed. Shillin allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars because of this misconduct.
He was charged with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and (2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
In November, a federal court in Wisconsin entered a partial judgment against Shillin that bars him from acting as an officer or director of a public company and orders him to pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty.
Shillin was also indicted in October on criminal charges of wire fraud and bank fraud. If convicted at trial, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for wire fraud and 30 years for bank fraud.
The financial advisor misconduct attorneys of Hyman Cotter PC represent investors who have been harmed by financial advisor misconduct, which can cost them all of part of hard-earned savings that took years to accumulate. We have experience dealing with a broad range of claims that rise to the level of financial advisor misconduct. If you have suffered investment losses as a result of misconduct by your financial professional or their firms, contact us at 312-291-4600 or through our online contact form for a free consultation.
