NettWorth Financial Group Lawsuit and $3.5M Settlement

The NettWorth Financial Group lawsuit was a FINRA arbitration claim filed on July 23, 2019, by 30 retired investors in the New Orleans area who alleged that two Metairie-based brokers had steered their retirement savings into unsuitable, high-commission products. FSC Securities Corporation, the broker-dealer behind NettWorth, settled the case on July 21, 2020, for $3.5 million.¹²

Who Was Sued

NettWorth Financial Group operated out of Metairie, Louisiana, and was run by two registered brokers, Craig Accardo and Frank Briseno III. Both were affiliated with FSC Securities Corporation, an Atlanta-based broker-dealer owned by Advisor Group, a national network with more than 7,000 affiliated advisors. The claimants named FSC Securities as the respondent and listed Accardo and Briseno as “nonparty representatives.” Advisor Group was also named.¹³

What the Investors Alleged

The core allegation was that the brokers knew their clients were retirees looking to preserve their capital, yet moved their money into illiquid, high-risk securities that generated large commissions. The claim identified nontraded real estate investment trusts (REITs), variable annuities, and other alternative investments as the products in question.¹

The investors also said the brokers misrepresented the nature of the investments, concealed how they were being compensated, and violated FINRA’s suitability rules. When account values dropped, according to the claim, the brokers blamed market conditions even in periods when the broader market was rising.¹

One product singled out was American Finance Trust Inc. (AFIN), a nontraded REIT sold to investors at $25 per share. When AFIN listed on Nasdaq in July 2018, shares closed at $15 on the first day, a 40% drop from the purchase price. The investment bank Robert A. Stanger & Co. said the listing had “eroded approximately $1 billion” of the company’s equity value.⁴¹

Named Investors and Their Losses

Two of the 30 claimants described their situations publicly. Gordon Dalrymple said he rolled roughly $450,000 from his 401(k) into investments managed by Accardo and Briseno, was told he would receive 5% retirement income, and instead watched his principal decline in what he said were illiquid, high-risk securities he never asked for.¹

Donald Diggs, a retired AT&T employee, said he invested more than $750,000 through NettWorth after meeting the brokers at an event organized by his former employer. He said his account value fell substantially even as the stock market rose, and that Frank Briseno discouraged him from communicating by email, telling him corporate review would be required.¹

The Brokers’ Response

Accardo and Briseno denied the allegations. In a joint statement they said: “We take our clients’ well-being and suitability very seriously and are proud of our history of serving clients’ needs. These allegations are baseless, and we intend to defend them vigorously.” Gregory Curley, an attorney for FSC Securities and Advisor Group, said the firms would defend the claim and declined further comment on pending litigation.¹

How the $3.5 Million Settlement Broke Down

The case did not go to a full hearing. According to Craig Accardo’s FINRA BrokerCheck record, the arbitration (FINRA-DR 19-02029) settled on July 21, 2020, for $3.5 million. FSC Securities paid the settlement in full. Accardo’s individual contribution was $0. In a statement attached to his regulatory record, Accardo said the firm settled the case against his wishes, that he contributed no money, that he maintained the investments were suitable, and that he was confident he would have prevailed at a hearing. He also said some of the individuals involved in the claim were not his clients.²

The formal filing sought “in excess of $5,000” in damages, a nominal figure. Across 30 retirees, several of whom individually described putting hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake, the actual losses alleged were much larger.²

What the Brokers’ Records Show Now

Accardo’s BrokerCheck record shows a second customer complaint filed in October 2022, alleging his recommendations were inconsistent with the client’s objectives and risk tolerance and caused account losses. The claimant is seeking between $100,000 and $500,000. That complaint remains pending on the most recent record.²

Briseno’s record is clean. His FINRA BrokerCheck report and SEC investment adviser record both show no disclosed customer complaints, arbitrations, regulatory actions, terminations, or financial disclosures.⁵⁶

FSC Securities and Advisor Group Supervision Issues

Part of the investors’ claim was that FSC Securities and Advisor Group failed to supervise the brokers and should have caught the unsuitable sales.³ That supervisory question surfaced again in December 2022, when FINRA sanctioned four Advisor Group broker-dealers, including FSC Securities, for negligently omitting material facts during 2018 sales of limited partnership interests in GPB Capital Holdings. FINRA found the firms failed to tell investors that GPB Capital had not filed its required audited financial statements with the SEC on time. The four firms were censured, fined a combined $200,000, and ordered to pay nearly $1.1 million in restitution, without admitting or denying the findings.⁷

1
NOLA.com. 30 Retired Investors Claim This Metairie Firm Squandered Their Savings to Earn Big Commissions
2
FINRA BrokerCheck. Craig Gerard Accardo, CRD# 3000762
3
Audacy/WWL. Retirees Sue Advisors Over Losses
4
Peiffer Wolf. Schorsch REIT Disaster Lawsuit
5
FINRA BrokerCheck. Frank Briseno III, CRD# 1177246
6
SEC. Frank Briseno III, CRD# 1177246
7
SecuritiesLaw.com. FINRA Fines 4 Advisor Group Firms Over Failures in Disclosing Information to Investors