SEC Indicts Former LPL Broker Kerry L. Hoffman on $3.3m Investor Fraud

Kerry Lee Hoffman (CRD# 1061740) has been sued by the SEC for  allegedly defrauding at least 46 investors out of $3.3 million dollars. The alleged fraud occurred between July 2015 and July 2018 while Hoffman was a registered broker with LPL Financial LLC in Mundelein, Illinois.

Hoffman, who was employed by LPL Financial from February 2010 through October 2018 (and subsequently by Union Capital Company in Chicago, IL from November 2019 through June 2019) is no longer a registered broker in the securities industry.

SEC Charges Allege Multi-Million Fraud Involving GT Media Securities Sales

An SEC complaint filed on July 1, 2019 alleges that Kerry L. Hoffman, along with childhood friend and co-defendant Thomas V. Conwell, defrauded at least 46 investors across a dozen states out of $3.3 million in unregistered securities.

Here are few details about the SEC complaint:

• According to the SEC, Hoffman and Conwell sold GT Media, Inc. securities to investors between July 2015 and July 2018;
• Hoffman is alleged to have received $50K in commissions from GT Media for offering and selling $500K of company stock and $350K of GT Media convertible promissory notes to advisory clients;
• The SEC claims Hoffman failed to disclose significant conflicts of interest to his clients, including his commissions and warrants from GT Media, and his loans to GT Media repaid with investor money, and that he failed to notify LPL of his outside activities.
• Conwell, who was previously barred from the securities industry in 2000, is alleged to have sold roughly $2.5M of the unregistered securities to over 40 investors, often by means of misrepresentations, including claims that Fortune 500 companies were looking to acquire GT Media, an IPO was expected, he was a co-investor, and that he was not being paid by the company.

FINRA’s online BrokerCheck database shows Hoffman resigned from LPL Financial in July 2018 over allegations that he served as a GT Media consultant without notifying his brokerage firm or obtaining its approval, and for assisting family members and clients with making GT Media investments.

He was subsequently employed by Union Capital in Chicago before being permitted to resign in June 2018. Hoffman additionally has a regulatory disclosure from 2007 indicating that he was discharged by UBS Financial for allegedly placing trades in a customer account without written authorization.

Lost Money? Meyer Wilson Can Help.

If you or someone you love has lost money investing with Kerry L. Hoffman, Thomas V. Conwell, or GT Media, you may have the right to seek a financial recovery of your losses.  In addition to helping investors nationwide explore their options for pursuing claims against bad brokers, Meyer Wilson can also evaluate whether a broker / adviser’s member firm can be held responsible for investor losses due to negligence, failures to supervise, and other forms of investment fraud and misconduct.

Meyer Wilson is a nationally recognized civil trial law firm that has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for wronged investors and consumers across the country. Call (614) 532-4576 or contact us online to speak with a lawyer about your potential claim.