CFP Board Suspends Advisor Over Improper GWG Bond Sales

Posted on July 14th, 2022 at 12:25 PM
CFP Board Suspends Advisor Over Improper GWG Bond Sales

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law:

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board) has issued an interim suspension against Patrick Egan, who is an advisor at Western International Securities, a firm recently charged by the SEC for violating Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI). 

In June, the SEC charged Western International Securities (Western) as well as five of its advisors, including Egan, with violating Reg BI when they recommended and sold GWG L Bonds to some retirees and other investors. GWG Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after failing to timely file its audited financial statements with the SEC in April 2022. According to the SEC, Western and the advisors recommended the L bonds to several retail investors who relied on fixed incomes and employ moderate risk tolerances. However, GWG noted in its prospectus that the L bonds were illiquid, high-risk, and only suitable for investors with substantial financial resources. 

Egan and the other Western advisors violated Reg BI’s “care obligation” by failing to exercise reasonable due diligence and skill required to understand the risks, rewards, and costs associated with the L bonds, according to the SEC. The SEC additionally alleged that Egan and the other Western advisors recommended the investments without a reasonable basis for believing that the bonds were in the clients’ best interests. The CPF Board subsequently suspended Egan’s ability to use the CFP certification marks after discovering the SEC’s lawsuit and investigation. 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors in GWG L Bond cases as well as financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, CFP Board, Western

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

I just received this letter from the CFP Board. Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!

David Y

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

October 7, 2025
Tricolor Bankruptcy Sparks DOJ Probe and Distress in Subprime Auto Loan Market

Tricolor Holdings, a subprime auto lender that combined used-car sales with high-interest financing for borrowers with limited or no credit history, has collapsed into bankruptcy amid a federal investigation into alleged fraud.

October 6, 2025
Judge Allows Widow's $8 Million FINRA Arbitration Claim Against JPMorgan to Proceed

JPMorgan Chase & Co. failed in its effort to block an 85-year-old widow from pursuing claims in FINRA arbitration over allegations that the bank failed to prevent her son from siphoning more than $8 million from her accounts.

October 3, 2025
SEC Charges Pennsylvania Man in $400 Million Ponzi Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Daryl F. Heller of Pennsylvania, along with his companies Prestige Investment Group, LLC, and Paramount Management Group, LLC, for operating a Ponzi scheme that caused investor losses of roughly $400 million.