Advisor 'banished' after state regulator claims he hid client losses

State authorities in California decided to "banish" an advisor from the industry who they claim hid large losses in affiliated funds and companies he operated as well as past regulatory problems with FINRA.

William Michael Jordan, founder of William Jordan Investments, consented to the decision to bar him from the financial services industry after a routine examination discovered several irregularities, including the losses. Total losses to clients were not specified.

Jordan's Laguna Hills, California-based wealth management firm has filed for bankruptcy protection, along with nearly two dozen affiliated ventures, according to the State of California Department of Business Oversight.

US Bankruptcy Court (Bloomberg)

“I’m pleased we have reached this agreement to revoke WJI’s license, banish William Jordan from the securities industry and protect investors from further harm,” Jan Lynn Owen, the department's commissioner, said in a statement.

Jordan,who also co-founded the locally popular all-woman rideshare service See Jane Go, did not respond to attempts to reach him.

The SEC is now investigating Jordan and his firms as well, according to the state.

Jordan, who managed $100 million for wealthy clients, sold unregistered securities and charged clients fees based on inflated account values, the state of California says.

The state investigation also found Jordan failed to disclose his past regulatory problems with FINRA and misled investors to think that independent audits would be conducted into his company and its holdings.

"These activities caused additional losses to investors and unjustly enriched Jordan, who continued to charge clients hundreds of thousands of dollars in investment adviser fees yearly based on the inflated values of the clients’ investments," according to the state's consent order.

In 2012, Jordan paid FINRA a $21,300 penalty and agreed to not associate with any FINRA member firm for three months for selling bonds that he neither investigated nor understood and that lost clients' money, according to his BrokerCheck public disclosure page.

In 2010, he was permitted to resign from the broker-dealer Securities Equity Group for selling investments that the firm did not authorize, also according to BrokerCheck.

While many of Jordan's ventures are in bankruptcy, the he rideshare service he founded with his daughter Savannah Jordan is not.

The website still lists the same Orange County address Jordan kept for his practice. The firm did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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