Former Raymond James Adviser Michael Shillin Charged by SEC with Defrauding Up to 100 Clients

Chicago-based Stoltmann Law Offices represents investors who’ve suffered losses from dealing with broker-advisors who’ve defrauded their clients. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Michael F. Shillin with defrauding at least 100 investment advisory clients by “fabricating documents and making misrepresentations about their investments,” according to Thediwire.com.

According to the SEC, Shillin, a former Raymond James advisor, allegedly told certain clients, many of whom were elderly, that they had “subscribed for Initial Public Offering (IPO) or pre-IPO shares, or that he had bought stock on their behalf, in certain `coveted companies.’” In addition, Shillin is accused of misrepresenting the purchase of life insurance policies with long-term care benefits, with several clients rolling over their existing policies into new ones, which were either non-existent or had far fewer benefits than he claimed.

For example, The SEC stated, “one of his clients reportedly decided to retire early when he was told that he was $450,000 richer after Shillin had purchased SpaceX stock for him. Another client was allegedly told that his life insurance policy contained a long-term care benefit, which the client learned was untrue after he was diagnosed with stage IV cancer.” According to the SEC, Shillin “went to great lengths to deceive his clients,” including setting up an online portal so they could monitor their portfolio of securities and profits – much of which were “pretend.”

Shillin received large commissions for his investment sales and advisory fees. The SEC claims that he received “several hundreds of thousands of dollars” in ill-gotten gains. He was affiliated with Raymond James for nearly four years before he was fired in mid-2018 for “failing to follow firm directive regarding the payment of client CPA fees,” according to his BrokerCheck profile. He then founded SWM, which offered services through A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners and resigned less than two years later after allegations surfaced about a “life insurance product [that provides] long-term care.”

He was barred by FINRA, the federal securities industry regulator, in December, 2020, for failing to participate with its probe. Shillin has 37 customer disputes listed on his BrokerCheck profile, with requests for damages ranging from $5,000 to $1 million, the majority of which are still pending. His state insurance license was also suspended by the Wisconsin Office of Insurance and he was permanently barred by the Wisconsin Securities Division.

If you invested with a broker-advisor and lost money as a result, you may have a claim to pursue through FINRA Arbitration. Please contact Stoltmann Law Offices, P.C. at 312-332-4200 for a free, no obligation consultation with a securities attorney. Stoltmann Law Offices is a contingency fee law firm which means we do not get paid until you do!