Shim Plotkin: $300K Complaint Against Plotkin Financial Advisor

A recent investor complaint against Chevy Chase, Maryland financial advisor Shim Plotkin (CRD# 2431863) alleges that his conduct resulted in six-figure damages. Records provided by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority show that he is a broker with Independent Financial Group and an investment advisor with Plotkin Financial Advisors.

Mr. Plotkin’s BrokerCheck report discloses multiple investor complaints. The most recent, filed in January 2023, alleges that as a representative of Independent Financial Group, he recommended unsuitable investments. The pending complaint does not allege specific damages but notes that one of the investments in question was for $300,000.

In a “Broker Statement” included with the pending complaint’s disclosure, Mr. Plotkin pushes back against the allegations, asserting that they lack factual basis. “The account holder is deceased (since 2019); the claim, brought by the trustee of her trust, makes allegations regarding suitability that do not align with the documents or with the customer’s own decision-making,” the statement notes. “Firm intends to defend the case as its initial review of the documents does not evidence support for any of the claims made.”

A second investor complaint, filed in 2021, similarly alleges that he recommended unsuitable investments while at Independent Financial Group. The pending complaint alleges unspecified damages.

A third investor complaint, filed in 2019, alleged that he over-concentrated the customer’s account in alternative investments. In 2021 the complaint reached a settlement of $145,000.

A fourth complaint, filed in 2016, alleged that while he was a representative of Pacific West Securities and Independent Financial Group, he misrepresented material facts, breached contract, acted negligently, breached his fiduciary duty, and recommended unsuitable investments in real estate investment trusts and direct participation programs. In 2018 the complaint reached a settlement of $250,000.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Mr. Plotkin holds 29 years of securities industry experience. Based in Chevy Chase, Maryland and Boca Raton, Florida, he has been a broker with Independent Financial Group since 2011 and an investment advisor with Plotkin Financial Advisors since 2003. His registration history includes Pacific West Securities, Cambridge Investment Research, Royal Alliance Associates, and Sun Investment Services Company. His credentials include the passage of seven securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Principal Examination, or Series 24; the Municipal Securities Principal Examination, or Series 53; the Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Representative Examination, or Series 6; the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; and the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, or Series 65. He currently holds 21 state licenses. (Information current as of February 20, 2023.)

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