CARMEL, Ind. — Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales is announcing legal action against a Carmel-based financial investment firm.
The Indiana Securities Division has issued a cease-and-desist order against Alexander Joyce; his related business entities ReJoyce Financial and ReJoyce Wealth Management; and investment advisor Joel Parady.
Joyce is well known in the community because he advertises on radio and television stations, including WTHR.
According to the cease-and-desist petition, Joyce "induced several clients to enter into an investment advisory agreement with his firm without being registered."
Clients who worked with Joyce allegedly claim they saw Joyce's business through television ads offering a variety of financial services.
According to Morales, Joyce personally met with clients and discussed how their funds would be invested in "structured" securities and those funds would then be placed in an account at JPMorgan Chase. Morales said Joyce violated Indiana Uniform Security Act by conducting business in this way, which requires all investment advisors and their representatives to be registered in order to conduct business in Indiana.
Morales said Joyce was not a registered investment advisor representative and at the time of the transactions, Joyce was "only engaged as a solicitor for another investment advisory firm." According to Morales, a solicitor is a person who is compensated for referring business to investment advisory firms but does not advise clients to make investment decisions on behalf of the client.
Experts say that's a problem.
"If he's receiving compensation for that advice, he needs to be a licensed financial planner," said Greg Renn, CFP Professional and professor of practice at the IU Kelley School of Business. "You're not supposed to be even giving that advice if you don't have the credentials to do that."
The Indiana Secretary of State also claims Joyce allegedly engaged in securities fraud and investment advisor fraud when he took over $2 million of client funds that were supposed to be deposited in a JPMorgan Chase brokerage account but were instead used to buy a house in Carmel in the name of one of his businesses.
"The investigators within our Securities Division are committed to standing up for Hoosiers and protecting their investments. We will continue to educate Hoosiers, so they don’t fall victim to these bad actors," Morales said in a news release.
When 13News stopped by ReJoyce Financial Wednesday afternoon seeking comment on the cease-and-desist order, their marketing director told us they'd send us a statement. We have yet to receive that response.
Renn said this case should remind all consumers to be cautious and vet investors and financial planners, to ensure your money is going where it's supposed to.
He said a simple first step is to check their credentials with a broker check online.
"It's free, it takes seconds to do. Really easy to verify if somebody is actually who they say they are." Renn said. "And if their name's not there, they don't have a legal obligation to be a fiduciary. Verify, verify, verify, especially when it comes to your money."
The Indiana Securities Division is encouraging other investors with complaints against Joyce to file complains with the Indiana Securities Division at this link.