Ameriprise Financial Services is seeking a temporary restraining order and injunctive relief in federal court against LPL Financial and a father-son advisor duo who LPL hired in April, accusing the firm and team of stealing confidential information and using it to solicit clients.
In its complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, Ameriprise accused LPL, Mitchell R. McCann and Wesley McCann of breaching the Protocol for Broker Recruiting, which governs an advisor’s use of client information when they leave a firm. Both LPL and Ameriprise are signatories to the protocol. They are also the nation's two largest independent broker-dealers and both are aggressive recruiters.
“Mitchell's and Wesley's pre- and post-termination behavior has been rife with misconduct and transgressions, supported, and encouraged by LPL,” the complaint said.
The McCanns, who worked in the Bloomfield Hills, Mich., office, serviced a total of 222 households and managed $249 million in assets. The elder McCann had been with the firm since 2014, and his son joined him in 2018.
The complaint said the duo began taking confidential documents and soliciting clients in the days leading up to their move to LPL. “In the dark of night, after business hours, and on weekends, the McCanns took boxes of confidential documents and information out of Ameriprise to misappropriate the material both before and after their transition to LPL.”
Ameriprise said that not only does it have proof of the duo entering its offices after hours and on weekends and walking off with boxes of confidential information, but that it also has evidence of multiple large print jobs and multiple emails, including personal client information, that the father-son team sent to themselves. Ameriprise claims that between April 5 and April 19, the McCanns printed a total of 687 pages of confidential documents and 186 pages of specific letterhead, which they used to solicit clients before they resigned on April 22.
Clients, the complaint said, began to receive letters with confidential information and redacted information, such as Social Security numbers, on April 15. But it was not until May 9, when the firm received a formal written complaint from a customer about receiving the information in the mail that Ameriprise learned of the McCanns’ actions.
“While Mitchell and Wesley claimed the protections of the Protocol, they had already violated the Protocol by pre-soliciting clients and mailing out documents to clients with their confidential information prior to their departure and by taking confidential documents and information, rendering the protections of the protocol moot,” the complaint said.
The complaint further noted that the duo and LPL have refused to return the confidential information they took from Ameriprise. “It appears that LPL has permitted Mitchell and Wesley to retain and use their Ameriprise confidential documents and information in violation of their contracts, applicable law, and the Protocol. Upon information and belief, Ameriprise suspects this could be standard practice for LPL, and will seek documents and information in discovery that will address same,” the complaint said.
The McCanns could not be reached for comment, and LPL did not respond to an inquiry for comment.
Mitchell McCann began his career in 1986 with Prudential Securities, according to BrokerCheck. He had also worked at FSC Securities Corporation and Raymond James Financial Services before joining Ameriprise. Wesley McCann had only worked for Ameriprise before he started work with LPL.
In addition to the restraining order and preliminary injunction prohibiting LPL and the McCanns from retaining confidential documents and soliciting clients, Ameriprise also has filed a parallel arbitration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.