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Regulation and compliance

Advisors charged in vehicular manslaughter, child porn and securities violation cases, suspended by CFP Board

ByJustin L. Mack
August 15, 2022 5:47 PM
Photo by Scott Wenger
Scott Wenger

Three financial advisors named as suspects in unrelated, ongoing court cases this spring have been suspended by the CFP Board as they each await their next days in court.

The CFP Board on Friday announced interim suspensions against Christopher J. Asher of Annapolis, Maryland; Jason D. Cooke of Clayton, Delaware; and Vincent J. Camarda of Amityville, New York. 

All of the suspensions were effective as of Aug. 5 and prohibit the trio of suspects from using the CFP designation until the CFP Board's investigation and possible further disciplinary proceedings are complete.

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Asher is facing felony criminal charges in connection to a fatal crash that claimed the life of a 56-year-old Baltimore woman in May. According to FINRA BrokerCheck, he is a 23-year industry veteran and previously registered investment advisor who most recently worked with Ameriprise Financial Services until early June. He also spent time with Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup.

Cooke, a previously registered investment advisor with 14 years of experience across five firms, was arrested in April by members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force on multiple child pornography charges. He most recently worked as a registered representative for Pruco Securities and was discharged following his arrest.

Camarda is a registered investment advisor who has been in the industry for 27 years, according to BrokerCheck. He is the owner of A.G. Morgan Financial Advisors, a Massapequa, New York firm charged by the SEC in June for unlawfully offering and selling more than $500,000 worth of unregistered, fraudulent securities. Camarda also worked for IBN Financial Services and was permitted to resign in June. 

Financial Planning's attempts to reach the suspended advisors were unsuccessful. Scroll down to learn more about their cases, and the charges they face.

Christopher J. Asher 

According to Anne Arundel County police officials, the crash that led to Asher's felony criminal charges happened around 11:09 p.m. on May 17 in  Davidsonville, Maryland. Investigators said Asher, 48, was driving his 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee southbound in an area where repaving and construction was underway. 

Police said crews were on scene limiting traffic to one lane of travel when Asher's Jeep struck an occupied Honda Accord that was stopped at a flagger's stop sign. Police said the Jeep fled the scene and continued south where more road crew flaggers were assisting with traffic control. 

Witnesses said as Asher attempted to make a right turn, his Jeep struck 56-year-old Lizeth Guzman, a pedestrian flagger who was standing in the intersection. Asher's Jeep continued forward, leaving the road and striking a sign before coming to a stop. 

Guzman was wearing a high visibility reflective vest and high visibility reflective pants at the time of the crash, police said. She was flown to MedStar Washington Hospital Center where she was pronounced dead.

After field sobriety tests were administered at the scene, police determined Asher to be under the influence of alcohol and placed him under arrest. He has been charged with multiple counts of negligent manslaughter, homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence, driving under influence, failure to remain at the scene of an accident, death of a vulnerable individual and reckless driver. 

Asher's case is ongoing in Anne Arundel County Court. 

Jason D. Cooke 

An arrest report from the Delaware State Police says state troopers and Department of Justice Investigators assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested Cooke, 45, on the morning of April 28 on five counts of dealing in child pornography. 

But additional information about the ongoing case remains sealed. Delaware State Police issued a statement saying "due to the sensitive nature of this case, additional information will not be released."

Police said Cooke was taken into custody without incident and committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution in Georgetown, Delaware on a $250,000.00 cash bond. 

The case remains an active investigation being conducted by the ICAC Task Force. Anyone with information regarding this case or a potential victim is asked to call the Child Predator Task Force at 302-739-2030.

Vincent J. Camarda

SEC court documents list Camarda, his firm and his former chief compliance officer James McArthur as defendants in a case involving an unregistered securities offering that raised more than $75 million from more than 200 investors in just under three years.

Officials said A.G. Morgan Financial Advisors offered or sold promissory notes to investors from 2017 to 2020 in connection to a more than $500 million unregistered fraudulent offering with lending company Complete Business Solutions Group, doing business as Par Funding.

In 2020, the SEC charged Par Funding and others with running a fraudulent scheme that raised nearly half a billion dollars from an estimated 1,200 investors nationwide.

Court documents said while soliciting investors, Camarda and his firm violated their fiduciary duty by failing to disclose to investors that they had a conflict of interest. Camarda was borrowing money from Par Funding through so-called "merchant cash advance" transactions and owed Par Funding approximately $750,000.

Camarda also told investors that it was a safe investment while failing to disclose that his company was in debt to Par Funding, and that Camarda was a guarantor on that debt to Par Funding. Court documents said Camarda, McArthur and the firm collectively received more than $7 million in compensation from Par Funding for their sales of the unregistered securities.

"The SEC alleges that the defendants offered and sold securities to investors without approval from the registered broker-dealer with whom they were associated," court documents said. 

The complaint, filed in federal court in the Eastern District of New York, charges Camarda with violating provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, acting as unregistered broker-dealers in violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and violating the antifraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. 

The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest and civil monetary penalties via a jury trial. 

An extension to respond to the complaint was requested by the defendants and granted by the court last week, giving the defendants a new response deadline of Aug. 16. An initial conference for the case is slated for the morning of Sept. 8.
Justin L. Mack
Former Wealthtech Reporter, Financial Planning
Regulation and compliance Wealth management Litigation
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