Last week, FINRA sanctioned Mark Lamkin, a financial advisor based in Louisville, Kentucky and a former contestant on the reality television show The Apprentice, for borrowing money from a customer without firm approval.

In 2005, Lamkin and three teammates on The Apprentice were fired by Donald Trump.  According to a New York Post article, Lamkin’s team came up with a marketing scheme for a Dick’s Sporting Goods store which caused the store’s sales to drop by 34 percent.  In 2018, Lamkin was fired by LPL Financial for receiving a loan from a client without firm approval, failing to disclose outside business activities, and personally engaging in and soliciting investors to participate in a private investment.

The Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent issued by FINRA on March 30 states that between December 2011 and August 2017, while registered through LPL, Lamkin borrowed a total of $1,265,000 from a customer without notifying the firm or obtaining its written approval.  FINRA suspended Lamkin for a period of three months and fined him $7,500.  As part of the settlement, Lamkin accepted and consented to the sanctions without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings.

According to InvestmentNews, Lamkin stated, “Finra did a great job in the investigation and I fully admit to arranging a loan from a long-time friend that I mistakenly believed was exempt from FINRA guidelines” .

Lamkin is currently associated with Calton & Associates Inc., a small independent broker-dealer in Louisville, Kentucky.  Lamkin’s current BrokerCheck report can be accessed here.

If you believe that you have been misled by a financial advisor, please call the Costello Law Group at 410-832-8800 (or Toll Free 877-418-0003) for a free consultation. Tom Costello of the Costello Law Group has 25 years of experience in stockbroker misconduct and investment fraud.