A sordid case involving accusations of "femicide" against a former Vanguard advisor accused of murdering his girlfriend in Bogota, Colombia, has resulted in a temporary suspension of his planning certification.
The CFP Board announced on Feb. 28 that it has suspended the certification of John Poulos, an advisor formerly with Vanguard Marketing Corporation, pending further investigations into the criminal charges he's now facing in Colombia. According to
The same day, surveillance footage showed Poulos leaving the apartment with a large blue suitcase. He flew to Panama and attempted to board a separate flight to Turkey but was arrested by Panamanian authorities. He was later charged in Colombia with femicide — essentially a hate crime against women — and obstruction of justice, according to the CFP Board.
Poulos was a representative of the Scottsdale, Arizona, branch of Vanguard Marketing — an institutional brokerage whose parent company is financial services firm Vanguard Group — from April 2022 to February this year, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's
When Poulos was at Vanguard, he was listed as both a broker with FINRA and an investment advisor with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He has since lost both registrations. Vanguard did not respond immediately to questions about Poulos.
The CFP Board, a self-governing body that sets training and competency standards for planners who want to hold themselves out as certified financial planners, is now conducting its own proceedings to decide if Poulos should be permanently stripped of his CFP credential. He could have it reinstated if he can prove he was never the subject of a criminal conviction or if any conviction is eventually vacated or reversed. Poulson, who pleaded not guilty and is still being held in Colombia, faces up to 40 years in Colombian prison if convicted, according to
The CFP Board said in a statement that a hearing panel of its Disciplinary and Ethics Commission decided to suspend Poulson's certification, effective Feb. 17, after finding that his "conduct poses a significant threat to the public or that his conduct significantly impinges upon the reputation of the profession and upon the CFP certification marks."
"Femicide" is not officially a crime in the U.S. but is recognized in 17
Separately, the CFP Board announced that it had also temporarily suspended effective on Feb. 1 the certification of the Wexford, Pennsylvania, advisor Kenwyn Belkot for not responding to FINRA requests for information. FINRA permanently deregistered Belkot, president of LPL Financial-affiliated advisory firm Freedom Financial, on Jan. 17.
Belkot's
A FINRA spokeswoman referred back to the BrokerCheck listing. Attempts to reach Belkot by phone and email were unsuccessful.
BrokerCheck said Belkot has been in the industry for 39 years. His affiliation with LPL Financial, which provides various support services to independent advisors, lasted from September 2004 to March 2022. Before that, he was with FSC Securities in Atlanta from 1996 to 2004, American Express Financial Advisors and IDS Life Insurance in Minneapolis from 1982 to 1996, American Express Service Corporation in Minneapolis from 1992 to 1994 and IDS Financial Services in Minneapolis from 1982 to 1986.
