Michael Shillin, Barred A.G.P. Broker, Subject Of 44 Disclosures

Michael Shillin (Michael Francis Shillin, CRD# 5927156) is a barred broker who was last registered with A.G.P/Alliance Global Partners in Altoona, Wisconsin. Before working for A.G.P., Shillin was registered with Raymond James Financial Services and Edward Jones.

Shillin Wealth Management

On October 27, 2021, Shillin was indicted by a Wisconsin federal grand jury on one count of bank fraud and nine counts of wire fraud. Through his now-defunct company, Shillin Wealth Management, he allegedly purchased shares of non-publicly traded stock in recognized companies on behalf of his clientele. These purchases allegedly earned the clients thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, he didn’t actually purchase these stocks.

Michael Shillin also advised his clients to purchase insurance policies that earned him considerable commissions. In these cases, he misrepresented the value, costs and benefits of the policies to his clientele. In addition, he also sent counterfeit tax documents that showed these clients that they were entitled to certain tax benefits that they weren’t entitled to receive.

Michael Shillin is also accused of fraudulently acquiring $462,000 on behalf of his company. He did so by showing the sum of $1.2 million in the firm’s account. However, the account was, in fact, under his control, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

This indictment is in addition to the SEC’s civil action for defrauding more than 100 clients.

Disclosures And FINRA Arbitration Claims

In just nine years as a registered broker, Michael Shillin has a collection of 44 disclosures on his publicly available BrokerCheck report. They include:

37 customer disputes, many of which are pending
One regulatory disclosure by the state of Wisconsin
One investigation initiated by the FINRA Department of Enforcement,
One FINRA disciplinary action resulting in a permanent bar,
One investigation by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
Three disputes regarding employment separation after allegations

September 23, 2021: a civil action by the SEC alleges that: “Plaintiff United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) alleges that Defendant Michael F. Shillin served as an investment adviser to hundreds of clients throughout Wisconsin and beyond. Shillin regularly told his clients he was their fiduciary. They, in turn, entrusted him with their hard-earned savings. Shillin systematically betrayed their trust, plying them with lies. Too often, the results were devastating. Shillin, in the course of selling a life insurance policy, told his client it contained a long-term care benefit. The client, now suffering from an illness, learned there was no such policy or benefit only after his diagnosis. Another client decided to retire early upon learning from Shillin that he was $450,000 richer. Shillin had explained the money was the profits from Shillin’s purchase of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. or “SpaceX” stock for the client. Only later did the investor learn the truth: The SpaceX stock and the resulting nest egg were figments of Shillin’s deception. These are only two examples of Shillin’s myriad lies and the resulting suffering they have caused so many of his clients. Shillin went to great lengths to deceive his clients. He even set up an online portal for his clients to monitor their portfolio of securities and profits – much of which, as we now know, were pretend. As a result of the conduct described herein, Shillin violated Sections 17(a)(1), 17(a)(2), and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act.” This action is currently pending.

May 24, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Client complained that in 2020, Mr. Shillin made misrepresentations and provided bad advice in connection with the viability of a life insurance policy purchased in 1988, and the resolution of a claim by one of the beneficiaries of that policy. The client stated that Mr. Shillin advised them to pay the complaining beneficiary approximately $18,000 from a separate account and then reimburse that account when the money was received from the insurance company. To date, it appears that no insurance proceeds have ever been received by the client or any of the beneficiaries. Instead, it appears that the subject insurance policy lapsed in 2006, and that no such proceeds will ever be forthcoming.” $18,466 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

May 17, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Each claimant alleges one or more of the following: that former FA misrepresented that he bought securities in claimants’ accounts when he did not actually buy them and presented claimants with documents that led them to believe the securities had been bought; misrepresented that he had purchased long-term care riders for claimants; appeared to use transfers from claimants’ investment accounts or payments from claimants’ own capital invested in annuity to create illusion of benefit payments from long-term care product; misrepresented the premiums that would be owed by claimants on long-term care policies; misrepresented how long long-term care benefits would last; misrepresented that after a specified time, the cash value of two insurance policies would be sufficient to fund future premiums; failed to make ongoing payments from claimants’ accounts for insurance product’s long-term care rider, causing policy to be canceled; misrepresented that withdrawals from claimants’ accounts were non-taxable when they were actually taxable; incorrectly advised claimants they could retire based on the purported performance of their portfolios; failed to follow instructions not to buy bonds that were not FDIC insured; and/or made unauthorized disbursements from two trusts.” $1,000,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

May 14, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Client stated that Mr. Shillin provided bad advice in regard to taking distributions from an IRA account, and provided poor advice regarding his business. Client also stated that Mr. Shillin told him he owned pre-IPO SpaceX shares. It does not appear that the client ever paid for the shares of SpaceX.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

May 14, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Client stated that he was supplied with a falsified 1099 by Mr. Shillin which caused tax and other issues, including with the receipt of a federal stimulus check. Client also stated that Mr. Shillin misrepresented Enterprise Zone formation and associated taxation. Client also stated that Mr. Shillin told him he owned pre-IPO shares of SpaceX and Palantir, even though the client did not pay for those securities and does not own them.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

May 10, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Each claimant alleges one or more of the following: that former FA misrepresented that he bought securities in claimants’ accounts when he did not actually buy them and presented claimants with documents that led them to believe the securities had been bought; represented that a claimant could obtain long-term care benefits under a rider to the claimant-spouse’s long-term care policy but never submitted the paperwork; failed to inform claimants that there were limits on penalty-free withdrawals from 401k accounts that had been rolled into an IRA; incorrectly represented to claimants they could withdraw from their IRAs when the withdrawals were prohibited transactions, and he prepared falsified accounting documents; improperly advised claimants they were eligible for a benefit under the Affordable Care Act and prepared a falsified Form 1099 reflecting a lower income; incorrectly advised claimants that investments in pre-IPO stocks would provide certain tax benefits, provided figures to include in tax returns, and represented that he would file the tax returns and forward payment to the IRS for claimants but failed to do so; incorrectly advised claimants on how much they could withdraw from their accounts to live on; and/or incorrectly advised claimants they could retire based on the purported performance of their portfolios.” $1,000,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

April 21, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Client indicated Mr. Shillin did not properly manage their account and misrepresented the insurance coverage held by the client as it relates to long-term care.” $5,000 in damages were requested, and the dispute was settled for that amount.

April 12, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Former client alleges that former FA may have fabricated statements to falsely reflect syndicate transactions in former client’s account that were not actually executed.” The dispute is pending as of this writing.

April 9, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Former clients allege that FA gave them false information and misrepresented their investments and portfolio.” The dispute is pending as of this writing.

April 7, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Client alleges the advisor used fake statements for IPOs to hide the misappropriation of funds. Allegation Activity Dates: 6/17/2015 – 05/21/2018.” The dispute is pending as of this writing.

March 30, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Client alleges that FA misrepresented that variable annuity contract that client purchased included long term care and life insurance benefits.” $150,000 in damages were requested, and the dispute was closed with no action.

March 26, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Former client alleges that FA represented that he was buying a long term care policy when instead he bought a life insurance policy and that FA misrepresented the policy would earn interest and after approximately 5 to 6 years it would self-fund.” The dispute was closed with no action.

March 18, 2021: a customer dispute states that “FA misrepresented that structured CD they purchased would pay periodic interest. The structured CD, however, only paid interest at maturity, but clients still received periodic interest payments which FA funded from his bank account.” The dispute is pending as of this writing.

March 17, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Mr. Shillin told [REDACTED] that he had purchased shares of SpaceX Series G Founders Shares in October 2019 or December 2019. Client further alleges the investment was for $20,000 (although he alleges that $25,000 was withdrawn from the account); and that Mr. Shillin promised the SpaceX shares would be delivered into client’s account.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

March 17, 2021: a customer dispute states that “The client advised that Michael Shillin provided a written account summary that reflected the ownership of certain securities (including SpaceX pre-IPO shares) that, in fact, were not purchased for the client. Client believes he has been “misled” by Mr. Shillin. It does not appear that the client ever paid for the shares he claims Mr. Shillin told him that he owned, and it further appears that no funds are missing from the client’s account.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

March 11, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Client alleges that Mr. Shillin (a) misrepresented the nature, amount and value of certain securities, including telling the client that he owned certain securities that were never actually purchased; and (b) engaged in the improper use of margin. The client alleges he has incurred tax liabilities and has made other financial decisions in reliance on Mr. Shillin’s misrepresentations that have caused him damages. Client also alleges that the Firm failed to supervise Mr. Shillin.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

March 8, 2021: a customer dispute states that “Clients allege FA misrepresented their life insurance policy would be paid in full in 10 years or less, and that after 5 years, the FA informed them the policy was fully paid, but instead, they will be paying premiums until they are 100 to 120 years old. This dispute was closed with no action.

March 5, 2021: a customer dispute states that “FA [Shillin]recommended withdrawing funds from a 401k to fund the purchase of a life and long term health insurance policy, and misrepresented that premiums would be paid from the policies’ dividends after 5 years.” This dispute was closed with no action.

February 17, 2021: A customer dispute states that “Clients stated that starting in or around October 2019 (or possibly earlier), Michael Shillin misrepresented the amount and source of expected dividends and funds in their accounts. Clients also stated that Mr. Shillin told them that they owned SpaceX stock and had significant profits in that stock, when in fact, the clients did not buy or own SpaceX stock. Clients also stated that they told Mr. Shillin that they had a tax liability of approximately $13k based on reporting of supposed profits and income. Client stated that Shillin said there was no tax liability and that he would resolve the issue and submit the clients’ tax returns to the IRS for them. Clients indicated the issue was not resolved and tax returns were never filed. $13,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

February 17, 2021: A customer dispute states that Shillin “told him that he owned pre-IPO shares of SpaceX, even though the client did not pay for those securities and does not own them.” $7,500 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

February 15, 2021: A customer dispute states that Shillin “recommended an IRA rollover that caused a taxable event, and that Mr. Shillin charged management fees that were higher than the amount that had been agreed upon. Client also stated that Mr. Shillin told him that he owned pre-IPO shares of SpaceX and Palantir, although it does not appear that the client ever purchased those shares. Further, client stated that Mr. Shillin lied about creating a living trust for him.” $145,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute was settled for $10,000.

February 10, 2021: A customer dispute states that “Clients stated that Mr. Shillin made misstatements about the taxability of withdrawals from an annuity and accounts at AGP, resulting in tax issues for the clients.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute was settled for $1,500.

February 8, 2021: A customer dispute states that “Clients stated that Mr. Shillin misrepresented the features of insurance policies which appear to have been purchased before Mr. Shillin’s employment with AGP. Clients also stated that Mr. Shillin mismanaged their retirement funds resulting in poor investment performance.

February 5, 2021: A customer dispute states that “Clients indicated Mr. Shillin misrepresented the value of one of their accounts. Clients further indicated that they had a verbal agreement with Mr. Shillin that he would not use discretion on their managed accounts (Note: Signed paperwork indicates discretion was properly granted). Clients also indicated they did not receive confirms or statements on their accounts. (Note: Both accounts were set up for e-Delivery. The e-Delivery email address matches the address provided by the client.) $51,588.00 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

February 3, 2021:

January 28, 2021: A customer dispute states that Shillin “provided them with an inaccurate, falsely inflated value of pre-IPO shares of SpaceX that had been purchased by the client.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

January 27, 2021: A customer dispute alleges “Client was told by Mr. Shillin he had purchased pre-IPO shares of SpaceX and Palantir. The client did not pay for these securities, and does not own them. The client further stated that Mr. Shillin gave him poor advice about the amount of money he could remove from his account per month.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute was settled for $20,000.

January 26, 2021: A customer dispute states that “Clients indicated they are having tax and insurance issues based on Mr. Shillin’s advice. Clients indicated Mr. Shillin provided a falsified 1099 for 2019 in an attempt to coverup his bad advice.” $30,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute was settled for $18,000.

January 25, 2021: A customer dispute states “Clients stated that (a) they retired in 2015 and 2016, and made other financial decisions, based on misrepresentations made by Mr. Shillin about their financial situation and account balances; (b) Mr. Shillin recommended that they cash in a paid insurance product to fund a different policy, and that this policy has lapsed due to Mr. Shillin’s misrepresentations, and (c) Mr. Shillin told them they owned pre-IPO shares of SpaceX and Palantir, even though the clients did not pay for those securities and do not own them.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

January 24, 2021: A customer dispute states “Client stated that he was supplied with a falsified 1099 by Mr. Shillin which caused tax and other issues, including with the receipt of a federal stimulus check. Client also stated that Mr. Shillin misrepresented Enterprise Zone formation and associated taxation. Client also stated that Mr. Shillin told him he owned pre-IPO shares of SpaceX and Palantir, even though the client did not pay for those securities and does not own them.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

January 22, 2021: A customer dispute states “Client stated that he was supplied with a falsified 1099 from Mr. Shillin which caused tax issues. Client further stated he based retirement decisions on Mr. Shillin’s misrepresentations about his financial status. Client also stated that Mr. Shillin told him that he had purchased pre-IPO shares of SpaceX and Zoom.” $300,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

January 22, 2021: following a bar by FINRA, the State of Wisconsin also barred Shillin in all capacities effective 1/22/2021.

January 21, 2021: A customer dispute states that “Clients stated that they retired based on false information that Mr. Shillin provided to them as to the value of their accounts in 2014. Clients also stated that Mr. Shillin misled them about the source of their monthly distributions by stating that they represented income on their investments, when they appear to have been disbursements of the principal in their accounts.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute was settled for $20,000.

January 21, 2021: A customer dispute brought by clients alleges that “Mr. Shillin misrepresented the features of an insurance policy they purchased in 2015 (while at a different firm). The clients indicated they were misled about the source of distributions from their accounts at AGP. The clients further indicated that they had tax issues based on bad advice from Mr. Shillin, and that Mr. Shillin reimbursed them for those amounts. Clients also stated that Mr. Shillin told them they owned pre-IPO shares of Spacex. It does not appear that the clients ever paid for the shares of SpaceX.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

January 20, 2021: A customer dispute states that “Clients stated that they have tax, insurance, social security, and related issues arising out of falsified 1099s provided by Mr. Shillin. Clients also stated that Mr. Shillin told them they owned pre-IPO SpaceX shares. It does not appear that the clients ever paid for the shares of SpaceX shares.” $50,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute was settled for $38,000.

January 20, 2021: A customer dispute states that “Client stated that Mr. Shillin misrepresented the features of a life insurance product purchased in 2014 while Mr. Shillin worked for Edward Jones. Client further indicated that Mr. Shillin misrepresented that monthly ACH deposits were coming from a life insurance company when they were coming from the client’s own funds. Client also stated that Mr. Shillin told him he owned pre-IPO SpaceX shares, and that he was provided a falsified 1099. It does not appear that the client ever paid for the shares of SpaceX.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute was settled for $38,000.

January 14, 2021: A customer dispute states that “Client stated that Mr. Shillin provided bad advice in regard to taking distributions from an IRA account, and provided poor advice regarding his business. Client also stated that Mr. Shillin told him he owned pre-IPO SpaceX shares. It does not appear that the client ever paid for the shares of SpaceX.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

January 14, 2021: A customer dispute states that “Clients stated that Mr. Shillin guaranteed them they would not lose any principal in their account, but they lost $17,336 in an IRA based on his bad advice. The clients also stated that Mr. Shillin advised him not to speak to AGP employees in late September 2020 (shortly before Mr. Shillin resigned). Clients also expressed concerns about statements made at a “town hall” meeting held by Mr. Schillin’s successor (Jake Jansen) in December 2020.” $17,336 in damages are requested, and the dispute was settled for $10,000.

December 21, 2020: A regulatory disclosure states that Michael Shillin was indefinitely barred in all capacities for refusing to produce information or documents or give testimony requested by FINRA. Shilling consented to FINRA’s sanction and entry of findings, which said that “Shillin’s member firm filed a Form U5 stating that he had resigned while under investigation for creating and altering documents and e-mails designed to show the existence of a long term care insurance policy that did not exist, for directly making a series of payments to the beneficiary of the non-existent long term care insurance policy, and for making material misstatements and providing falsified/altered documents to firm personnel during the investigation in an apparent effort to explain the situation.”

December 21, 2020: A customer dispute alleged that “Michael Shillin misrepresented the amount and source of expected dividends and funds in their accounts. Clients also stated that Mr. Shillin told them that they owned SpaceX stock and had significant profits in that stock, when in fact, the clients did not buy or own SpaceX stock. Clients also stated that they told Mr. Shillin that they had a tax liability of approximately $13k based on reporting of supposed profits and income. Client stated that Shillin said there was no tax liability and that he would resolve the issue and submit the clients’ tax returns to the IRS for them. Clients indicated the issue was not resolved and tax returns were never filed.” $13,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

December 16, 2020: A customer dispute stated that “Shillin provided them with falsified 1099 forms for 2019, causing the clients to complete an inaccurate tax return for 2019. Clients also stated that they took more money out of husband’s IRA in 2019 than they otherwise would have based on Mr. Shillin’s advice and misrepresentation that the interest on the bonds that they held in their individual accounts was tax-free.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute was settled for $25,000.

December 9, 2020: A customer dispute stated that “Shillin attempted to switch his (and separately his wife’s) life insurance from State Farm to John Hancock in July 2018. His wife’s policy was switched, but the documentation Client received regarding his policy switch appears to be falsified as John Hancock indicated to him that he had no policy with John Hancock, and the policy number was not for Client (He discovered this fact recently). A check drawn from State Farm for $29,658.78 was deposited into Client’s joint brokerage account in April 2019. The money stayed in the account; and was not used to pay for any insurance policy. A review of Firm emails indicates Client was rejected for the policy in underwriting, but Mr. Shillin did not relay this information to Client. Client provided copies of multiple texts from Mr. Shillin which stated Client had a valid policy with John Hancock. He also provided copies of John Hancock documents he received directly from Mr. Shillin.” $30,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute was settled for $100,000.

December 9, 2020: A customer dispute stated that “Shillin provided a written account summary that reflected the ownership of certain securities (including SpaceX pre-IPO shares) that, in fact, were not purchased for the client. Client believes he has been “misled” by Mr. Shillin. It does not appear that the client ever paid for the shares he claims Mr. Shillin told him that he owned, and it further appears that no funds are missing from the client’s account.” $30,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute was settled for $100,000.

November 23, 2020: A customer dispute “(A)lleges that Mr. Shillin told [REDACTED] that he had purchased shares of SpaceX Series G Founders Shares in October 2019 or December 2019. Client further alleges the investment was for $20,000 (although he alleges that $25,000 was withdrawn from the account); and that Mr. Shillin promised the SpaceX shares would be delivered into client’s account.” $5,000 in damages are requested, and the dispute is pending as of this writing.

November 20, 2020: An investigation initiated by the FINRA Department of Enforcement is disclosed “To determine whether violations of the federal securities laws or FINRA, NASD, or MSRB rules have occurred.”

October 7, 2020: A customer dispute alleged that “Shillin made misrepresentations relating to the amount and source of expected dividends in his account.” $20,000 in damages were requested and the dispute settled for $22,991.67.

October 2, 2020: Two employment separation allegations appear on Shillin’s record regarding A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners. Shillin resigned “while under investigation for (a) creation and alteration of documents and e-mails designed to show the existence of a long term care (LTC) insurance policy in favor of a “beneficiary” who was not a client of the Firm, when in fact, that policy did not exist, and (b) for directly making a series of payments to the “beneficiary” of the non-existent LTC policy. In addition, Mr. Shillin made material misstatements and provided falsified/altered documents to Firm personnel during the investigation in an apparent effort to explain the situation. The investigation to date has not uncovered any evidence of diversion of funds.”

May, 2018: Michael Shillin was discharged from Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. for “failure to follow firm directive regarding the payment of client CPA fees.”

Allegations Of Misrepresentation By Wisconsin Securities Broker

Many of the claims against Michael Shillin allege misrepresentation. Stockbrokers cannot intentionally omit or misrepresent material information related to a security. Investors typically rely on information from their broker when considering what investments to make. Brokers have been known to misrepresent facts related to risky securities to conceal negative aspects of those securities.

Investors may not know that misrepresentation happened until they’ve lost money. Investors may be able to recover losses due to misrepresentation through FINRA arbitration.

Did You Invest With Michael Shillin?

If you believe that your stock broker or financial advisor put his financial interests ahead of yours, or recommended an unsuitable investment, you may have a claim to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration.

Silver Law Group represents investors nationwide in securities and investment fraud cases. Our experienced lawyers may be able to help you recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about your account, call us at 800-975-4345. We take most cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you owe us nothing unless we recover your money for you. Contact us today.