The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards has imposed sanctions on 13 professionals for various violations, several of which involved serious criminal conduct.

The sanctions include public censures, suspensions, temporary bars, permanent bars and revocations of the right to use the CFP marks, the CFP Board said. Under the board's disciplinary code, permanent bars apply to planners who do not currently hold the CFP mark, while revocations apply to CFP holders.

One planner was publicly censured, three were suspended, three were temporarily barred, one was permanently barred, and five had their rights to use the CFP marks revoked, the board said.

Of the five planners who had their license revoked, three were criminally charged—one with killing his girlfriend in Bogotá, Colombia, and two others with felony counts of child pornography. Another planner was permanently barred after being convicted for a $2 million real estate scam.

Douglas Hawkins of Lexington, Ky., was permanently barred on August 28 after he failed to respond in a timely manner to a misconduct complaint. In February, Hawkins was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky for investment fraud, securities fraud and mail fraud in connection with his role in a scheme to defraud investors in a real estate portfolio. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in May.

The board revoked the certification of advisor Jason Cooke effective June 20. The board said Cooke failed to cooperate with its request for information relating to alleged misconduct and the termination from his firm. Cooke, who worked for Pruco Securities, according to BrokerCheck, was arrested on April 28 and charged with five counts of felony dealing in child pornography in the Kent County (Delaware) Court of Common Pleas, the board said.

Advisor Randall B. Kiefner’s certification was revoked effective August 28. The board said the commission received evidence that Kiefner, a CFP in Orlando, Fla., was charged with a felony crime associated with the possession of child pornography. The board said it sought information for an investigation and Kiefner did not cooperate. Kiefner worked for Charles Schwab & Co. and E*Trade Securities before moving to Morgan Stanley in March 2019, where he spent two months. 

John Poulos of Colleyville, Texas, was permanently barred by the board, effective August 28. The board said Poulos did not respond to a request for information into an investigation when it discovered he’d been “charged with causing the violent death of his then-fiancée in Bogotá, Colombia and fleeing that country to avoid prosecution.” Poulos was charged by authorities in the South American country with femicide and obstruction of justice on January 26. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in a Columbia court earlier this month, according to published reports. Poulos worked for Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Before that, he had been with Northwestern Mutual Investment Services LLC.

The following is a complete list of the sanctioned planners: