Financial planner gets same-name problems as US investigates Trump Russia ties
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It’s not a good time to be named George Papadopoulos — even if you have no connection to Trump.
George Papadopoulos, a foreign-policy advisor to US President Donald Trump during his presidential campaign in 2016, is currently caught up in a federal probe into possible Russian meddling during the elections. On Oct. 5, Papadopoulos secretly pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators about his contacts with Russian operatives. He agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of a plea deal, which was announced on Monday.
According to court papers unsealed on Monday, he was in frequent communication with a “campaign supervisor” and “a high-ranking official” of Trump’s campaign during his time working for effort until January. The papers also indicated that he made contact with Russians who offered “dirt” on Clinton in the form of thousands of emails; recommended that Trump officials meet with Russians to discuss “US-Russia ties”; and had email contact with a Russian claiming to represent the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who thanked him “for an extensive talk.”
The news of Papadopoulos’s involvement has triggered outrage among many Americans, many of whom took to Twitter. But instead of the former Trump adviser, they ended up venting their anger on a Michigan-based financial planner and certified public accountant with the handle “feeonlyplanner” — who unfortunately had the same name.
The man, who describes himself as an “Independent Fee Only Certified Financial Planner (CFP) & CPA” and “Wall Street Journal Expert panelist” on his Twitter page, was on a trip to visit his mother in Greece when his account was inundated with thousands of tweets, according to the Wall Street Journal.
To clarify things, he tweeted: “For the nth time, I am NOT Trump's foreign policy adviser! I have NO association with the Trump camp! NONE!” He has pinned the tweet to the top of his page; it has been liked over 35,000 times and retweeted over 8,000 times as of 5 PM ET on Oct. 31.
He also noted that “George Papadopoulos” is a common name in Greece, which meant his getting caught up in the scandal was “not a big deal” there.
He took his ordeal in good humour, which has gained him thousands of supporters and over 2,000 new followers. “Buy low sell high = Never lie to FBI,” he said in one tweet. “If I had a dollar for every time my "I am not THAT George Papadopoulos" tweet was liked I could pay for daughter's college,” he said in another.
*With files from Bloomberg
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George Papadopoulos, a foreign-policy advisor to US President Donald Trump during his presidential campaign in 2016, is currently caught up in a federal probe into possible Russian meddling during the elections. On Oct. 5, Papadopoulos secretly pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators about his contacts with Russian operatives. He agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of a plea deal, which was announced on Monday.
According to court papers unsealed on Monday, he was in frequent communication with a “campaign supervisor” and “a high-ranking official” of Trump’s campaign during his time working for effort until January. The papers also indicated that he made contact with Russians who offered “dirt” on Clinton in the form of thousands of emails; recommended that Trump officials meet with Russians to discuss “US-Russia ties”; and had email contact with a Russian claiming to represent the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who thanked him “for an extensive talk.”
The news of Papadopoulos’s involvement has triggered outrage among many Americans, many of whom took to Twitter. But instead of the former Trump adviser, they ended up venting their anger on a Michigan-based financial planner and certified public accountant with the handle “feeonlyplanner” — who unfortunately had the same name.
The man, who describes himself as an “Independent Fee Only Certified Financial Planner (CFP) & CPA” and “Wall Street Journal Expert panelist” on his Twitter page, was on a trip to visit his mother in Greece when his account was inundated with thousands of tweets, according to the Wall Street Journal.
To clarify things, he tweeted: “For the nth time, I am NOT Trump's foreign policy adviser! I have NO association with the Trump camp! NONE!” He has pinned the tweet to the top of his page; it has been liked over 35,000 times and retweeted over 8,000 times as of 5 PM ET on Oct. 31.
He also noted that “George Papadopoulos” is a common name in Greece, which meant his getting caught up in the scandal was “not a big deal” there.
He took his ordeal in good humour, which has gained him thousands of supporters and over 2,000 new followers. “Buy low sell high = Never lie to FBI,” he said in one tweet. “If I had a dollar for every time my "I am not THAT George Papadopoulos" tweet was liked I could pay for daughter's college,” he said in another.
*With files from Bloomberg
For more of Wealth Professional's latest industry news, click here.
Related stories:
Advisor permanently banned by regulator
Lionel Messi arrested for tax fraud following Panama Papers scandal
