Updated March 31, 2021 – Former Altoona Advisor Michael Shillin Reportedly Barred after Allegations of Misrepresentations

The White Law Group is currently representing investors in securities fraud claims involving financial advisor Michael Shillin and the liability his former employers may have for failure to properly supervise him. 

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) reportedly barred former advisor Michael Shillin (CRD#: 5927156, Altoona, WI) in December 2020 from working in the securities industry after he purportedly refused to appear for on-the-record testimony.

According to a Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent (AWC) signed on December 18, 2020, FINRA was reportedly investigating Shillin after his member firm, Alliance Global Partners, filed an amended Form U5 stating that a client had complained that “Shillin made misrepresentations relating to the amount and source of expected dividends in his account.”

Shillin’s most recent member firm, Alliance Global Partners filed a Form U5 stating that Shillin had allegedly resigned while under investigation. The Form U5 is the Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration. Broker-dealers, investment advisers, or issuers of securities must use this form to terminate the registration of an individual in the appropriate jurisdictions and/or self- regulatory organizations.

In the Form U5 filing, the firm alleged the following:

• Shillin created and altered documents and e-mails “designed to show the existence of a long term care (LTC) insurance policy” that allegedly did not exist,
• Alliance Global alleged that Shillin “directly making a series of payments to the ‘beneficiary’ of the non-existent LTC policy,” and
• The firm stated that Shillin made “material misstatements and provid[ing] falsified/altered documents to Firm personnel during the investigation in an apparent effort to explain the situation.”

For FINRA’s full findings see FINRA Case # 202006822610.

According to his FINRA BrokerCheck report, Shillin was reportedly registered with Alliance Global Partners in Altoona, WI from 2018 until  October 2020. Previously, he was registered with Raymond James in Chippewa Falls, WI for 4 years until he was discharged for “failure to follow firm directive regarding the payment of client CPA fees,”  according to his broker report.

His broker report indicates that he was the owner of a private label entity for financial services called Shillin Wealth Management since May 2018.

Update on March 31, 2021 – Michael Shillin reportedly has 27 customer complaints on his broker record, with two still pending.

One of the pending suits filed on December 9, alleges that Mike Shillin attempted to switch a client’s life insurance policies “but the documentation Client received regarding his policy switch appears to be falsified as John Hancock indicated to him that he had no policy with John Hancock, and the policy number was not for Client (He discovered this fact recently). A check drawn from State Farm for $29,658.78 was deposited into Client’s joint brokerage account in April 2019. The money stayed in the account; and was not used to pay for any insurance policy. A review of Firm emails indicates Client was rejected for the policy in underwriting, but Mr. Shillin did not relay this information to Client. Client provided copies of multiple texts from Mr. Shillin which stated Client had a valid policy with John Hancock. He also provided copies of John Hancock documents he received directly from Mr. Shillin.” The damage amount requested is reportedly $30,000.

On November 23, a client filed suit alleging that Shillin promised to purchase $25,000 worth of Space-X shares, but instead purportedly only purchased $20,000 of shares “although he alleges that $25,000 was withdrawn from the account; and that Mr. Shillin promised the SpaceX shares would be delivered into client’s account.”

Potential Lawsuits to Recover Financial Losses

Brokerage firms are required to adequately supervise their advisors. They must ensure they are complying with FINRA rules.

When brokers abuse client accounts and conduct transactions that violate securities laws, such as misrepresentation, the brokerage firm they are working with may be liable for investment losses. Brokerage firms that fail to monitor the business activities of their employees may be liable for investment losses due to negligent supervision for the misconduct of their employees.

The brokerage firms can be held responsible for any losses in a FINRA arbitration claim if it is determined that they failed to properly supervise their agent.

If you have suffered losses investing with Michael Shillin, the securities attorneys at The White Law Group may be able to help you. For a free consultation with a securities attorney, please call (888) 637-5510.

The foregoing information, which is all publicly available, is being provided by The White Law Group.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, please visit our website, www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.