A New Hampshire registered investment advisor has filed a lawsuit against one of its former advisors over allegations he stole information for the benefit of his new business, reports Financial Advisor.
The suit was filed by Arcadia Wealth Management against Justin Champlain, who resigned from Arcadia in August and started his own firm in Merrimac, Massachusetts, Champlain Financial.
According to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Champlain stole client and firm data prior to his resignation, in violation of the restrictive covenants of his employment agreement. He was accused of luring clients with $25 million in assets to his new firm.
Arcadia’s lawsuit details how Champlain rose through the ranks at the firm that as founded in 2014 by husband-and-wife-team Michael R. Panico and Jessica M. Panico. Champlain arrived four years later as a certified financial planner with no clients and little client experience.
“He did, however, possess obvious ambition and a desire to advance himself and his own compensation,” the complaint said. “Champlain therefore took full advantage of the training, personnel, resources, connections, reputation, and opportunities that Arcadia and the Panicos afforded to him.”
The complaint states that Champlain’s compensation increased to the point where he became Arcadia’s highest paid employee, earning more than the Panicos, but that the company eventually attempted to negotiate a different compensation structure that aligned his interests with those of the firm’s.
“Champlain initially expressed unhappiness with the new compensation structure,” the complaint said. “While he had the potential to earn significantly more in compensation, doing so would require him to generate new AUM (assets under management) rather than simply reap huge commissions from past business.”
The complaint states that even after negotiations led to Champlain signing a new employment agreement in May, he allegedly was making plans to leave and was stealing confidential information about Arcadia clients.
“From the time he first started negotiating the 2025 employment agreement in early April until his resignation in August 2025, Champlain wantonly looted Arcadia of confidential information and trade secrets, and destroyed evidence of his theft in an attempt to conceal his misconduct,” the complaint said. “After leaving Arcadia, Champlain used the confidential information and trade secrets he pilfered to start a competing firm and steal Arcadia’s clients.”
Arcadia added that in July, Champlain downloaded account statements “for every account of every Arcadia client custodied with Fidelity, exfiltrating over 5,200 records in six zip files. The next day, he tried to conceal his crime by destroying those same zip files.”
The complaint states, “On August 27, 2025, Arcadia sent to [Champlain] a detailed spreadsheet and calculation of the monetary damages that it has sustained. On September 2, 2025, [Champlain] responded with a proposal so paltry that no reasonable person would believe [he’s] acting in good faith. Arcadia is now filing this lawsuit to recover the monetary damages that it has sustained from [his] egregious misconduct.”
Champlain is charged with breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of duty of loyalty, fraud and violation of the Consumer Protection Act. Arcadia seeks injunctive relief, compensatory damages, statutory damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, costs and expenses, and a jury trial.
Champlain did not return a call for comment.
At Hyman Cotter PC, our attorneys understand the financial and emotional ramifications of investment losses caused by financial professionals and 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 Hyman Cotter PC at 312-291-4600 or through our online contact form for a free consultation.
