The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. has issued an order permanently revoking financial planner Victor Lee’s right to use the CFP certification marks.
The CFP Board’s Disciplinary and Ethics Commission issued the order stripping Lee, a resident of Bayside, N.Y., of his professional certification after being terminated by his firm for failing to disclose an outside business activity.
Lee had entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra), consenting to a permanent bar after Finra found he engaged in an undisclosed business activity; created at least 50 partnership agreements whereby he affixed inaccurate information to them; and failed to conduct due diligence in drafting the partnership agreements.
According to Finra’s BrokerCheck website, Lee reportedly engaged in a reciprocal business arrangement with a local tax preparer, who referred clients to Lee.
Lee not only was charged with failing to disclose the unapproved business arrangement to his employer, UBS Financial Services Inc. of New York, N.Y., he allegedly used the firm’s resources, including his business email address, to communicate with clients referred to him by the tax preparer, BrokerCheck said. Since UBS did not know of the business arrangement, it had not approved it.
Additionally, Lee reportedly entered into backdated partnership agreements with the tax preparer’s clients when he believed they were under audit by the New York State Department of Tax and Finance, even though he had no prior experience or expertise in creating partnership agreements.
Lee knowingly drafted false and misleading documents the tax preparer’s clients filed with the state while under audit, misrepresenting Lee’s employer, UBS, which had not sanctioned his actions, and state auditors, which reviewed them, according to BrokerCheck.
The CFP Board found that Lee failed to disclose his Finra bar to the board, as required by the Disciplinary Rules and Procedures that govern the industry, thereby violating the Rules of Conduct.
The CFP Board revocation is effective as of September 27, 2018, but the Finra revocation is effective as of January 9, 2017.
Lee worked for UBS from September 20, 2012 through December 24, 2015.