The CFP Board announced more than 30 sanctions against current or former professionals, including a dozen permanent bars and several revocations of the right to use the CFP marks.
One of the permanent bars was for Nicholas Spagnoletti, who was arrested last year and charged with the possession and distribution of child pornography, according to the Board. The permanent bar was issued after he failed to cooperate with an investigation after being charged last year.
According to Morris County, N.J., prosecutors, between April 15, 2021, and Aug. 12, 2021, Spagnoletti used his cellphone to “upload, possess and distribute” child pornography images. The Board originally passed an interim suspension on Spagnoletti last year.
Spagnoletti most recently worked for Wealth Enhancement Group prior to his arrest and previously had multiyear stints with LPL and Mutual Securities, according to his BrokerCheck profile.
The CFP Board also permanently barred Roderick Whited, who spent more than two decades with Northwestern Mutual Investment Services. According to Whited’s BrokerCheck profile, he allegedly stole more than $44,000 in charitable donations for a pediatric cancer charity garnered from fundraising events conducted by his Northwestern branch office.
Instead of transmitting the funds to the charity, Whited instead allegedly transferred the funds to his own personal bank account (he was fired from his most recent firm in December, according to FINRA). After the firm discovered the alleged scheme, Whited eventually repaid the charity more than $35,000. (Whited agreed to a FINRA sanction without admitting or denying the findings.) The CFP Board previously handed down an interim suspension against Whited in December of last year.
The Board also permanently revoked certification mark privileges for David Lynn Medlin, a Texas-based advisor who’d previously spent two decades with Ameriprise and several years with LPL, according to his BrokerCheck profile. The CFP Board alleged that on two separate occasions in April 2021, Medlin used the term “white power” against an Asian-American city council candidate.
According to April 2021 reporting from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Amyn Gilani, a City Council candidate campaigning in Colleyville, Texas last year, said Medlin stuck out his fist and said “white power” as Gilani passed by him. Gilani reportedly recorded a second interaction on his phone, in which Medlin again said “white power” as the advisor drove off in his truck.
In all, the Board announced six public censures, one temporary bar, seven suspensions, 12 permanent bars and seven revocations.
In previous months, the Board also suspended a Delaware-based financial advisor arrested on child pornography charges, as well as another advisor charged with vehicular manslaughter. The CFP Board also suspended an advisor that was charged by the SEC in its first enforcement case related to Regulation Best Interest rule violations.