The New Jersey broker is alleged to have committed elder financial fraud
V. Cullen Kempson III (also known as Voigt C. Kempson) was fined and suspended earlier this year by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The agency discovered and reported that he had made trades in the account of a deceased customer.
Kempson wouldn’t admit or deny the findings, but he agreed to the 30-day suspension and $5,000 fine. Although he is now able to act as a broker again, he’ll need to find a new firm, as his most recent employer – Commonwealth Financial Network of Sparta, NJ – fired him when it learned about these reports.
Kempson did not inform Commonwealth that his client had died, and continued to make trades, 40 in total, although he didn’t have written authority to do so. Kempson said he was only following the instructions from the executors and claimed to be “unaware of [the] requirement to notify broker dealer of [the client’s] death.”
A 32-year veteran of the brokerage industry, Kempson worked for four other firms before Commonwealth:
- Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC – Milwaukee, WI
- Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated – Milwaukee, WI
- Guardian Investor Services Corporation – New York, NY
- Park Avenue Securities LLC – New York, NY
Kempson also conducted securities business and fixed insurance sales under the aegis of Kempson & Tschopp, LLC.
For additional information about V. Cullen Kempson III, you can read this BrokerCheck report created by FINRA.
Although Kempson maintains he did nothing wrong, making trades for someone who has died may be a breach of fiduciary duty. And if the broker was trading primarily to generate extra commissions for himself, this is another violation.
While this may be a unique situation, broker malfeasance is all-too common, affecting thousands of people every year. If you believe you or someone you know is a victim, money may be able to be recovered through securities arbitration. To take action, get in touch with a securities arbitration and elder financial fraud attorney at the Silver Law Group. Scott Silver is the current chair of the American Trial Lawyers Association Securities and Financial Fraud Group and our expert legal team represents clients in securities law arbitration cases to help them recover funds and get a sense of justice.
Call us toll-free at 1-800-975-4345 or send us a message through our online contact form for your free consultation. We work on a contingency-fee basis, which means we don’t get paid unless we recover funds on your behalf.