The advisor became the subject of bogus sex ads aimed at damaging his reputation
A former advisor at US-based investment house Edward Jones is suing the firm for allegedly perpetrating a smear campaign against him, which included fake ads for gay sex.
Dale Gunderson was fired from Edward Jones in 2014 for reportedly breaching an internal policy of confirming trades that were placed by clients with his non-registered branch office administrator, reported the Sacramento Bee.
Gunderson had been overseeing US$150 million in client assets, but was contractually obligated to leave his client list behind after his termination; however, he kept his old phone number so that his clients could still reach him. Remaining in the same small community that his former office serves, he set up a financial-planning practice just half a mile away.
A lawsuit he filed at the Glenn County Superior Court alleged that his former colleagues put up ads seeking sex with men, which included his phone number and physical description, on Craigslist nine months after he was let go. The suit claimed that they decided to take revenge on Gunderson after a client chose to stay with him.
Former Edward Jones advisor Paul Betenbaugh and current advisor Lisa Rodriguez, whom Betenbaugh had recruited to the firm, were named as defendants in the suit. Betenbaugh admitted that he’d placed two of the ads, leading to his termination in February 2016. According to court filings by law firm Keesal, Young & Logan, Rodriguez is denying any involvement.
Lawyers representing Edward Jones and Rodriguez have called many aspects of the case baseless. A spokesperson for the firm has confirmed that it let go of Betenbough as soon as his role in placing the ads came to light, but offered no comment on the case.
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Dale Gunderson was fired from Edward Jones in 2014 for reportedly breaching an internal policy of confirming trades that were placed by clients with his non-registered branch office administrator, reported the Sacramento Bee.
Gunderson had been overseeing US$150 million in client assets, but was contractually obligated to leave his client list behind after his termination; however, he kept his old phone number so that his clients could still reach him. Remaining in the same small community that his former office serves, he set up a financial-planning practice just half a mile away.
A lawsuit he filed at the Glenn County Superior Court alleged that his former colleagues put up ads seeking sex with men, which included his phone number and physical description, on Craigslist nine months after he was let go. The suit claimed that they decided to take revenge on Gunderson after a client chose to stay with him.
Former Edward Jones advisor Paul Betenbaugh and current advisor Lisa Rodriguez, whom Betenbaugh had recruited to the firm, were named as defendants in the suit. Betenbaugh admitted that he’d placed two of the ads, leading to his termination in February 2016. According to court filings by law firm Keesal, Young & Logan, Rodriguez is denying any involvement.
Lawyers representing Edward Jones and Rodriguez have called many aspects of the case baseless. A spokesperson for the firm has confirmed that it let go of Betenbough as soon as his role in placing the ads came to light, but offered no comment on the case.
For more of Wealth Professional's latest industry news, click here.
Related stories:
How a global bank scandal has changed an industry
Financial planner Louis Schooler hops to Tahiti
