Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group

A summary of what happened?

Brian Korienek is a partner and Vice President of Wealth Management at Goldstone Financial Group, based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois. He holds Series 7 and 66 licenses and an Illinois Life & Health Insurance License. Korienek has been featured on Fox 32 Chicago and the WLS 890AM radio show, “Securing Your Financial Future.”

Despite his professional credentials, Korienek has faced several customer disputes and allegations:

1. Misrepresentation and Fraud: In one case, a customer alleged that Korienek recommended a high-risk, unregistered security, 1st Global Capital, LLC, which was unsuitable given the client’s low-risk tolerance. The client claimed significant financial losses due to this investment.
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2. Breach of Fiduciary Duty: Multiple complaints have accused Korienek of breaching his fiduciary duty by failing to act in the best interests of his clients. These allegations include claims of unsuitability, failure to supervise, and common law fraud.
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3. Regulatory Actions: Korienek’s record includes four customer disputes and one termination, as reported by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). These disputes involve allegations of misrepresentation, omission of material facts, and unsuitable investment recommendations.
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While Goldstone Financial Group maintains an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has received positive customer reviews, Better Business Bureau the individual complaints against Korienek highlight concerns about his advisory practices. Prospective clients should conduct thorough due diligence and consider these factors when evaluating financial advisors.

Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)

Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.

What was Brian Korienek - Goldstone Financial Group trying to hide?

Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group‘s attempts to hide unfavourable content through the misuse of copyright notices while allegedly engaging in perjury present serious legal concerns. These actions suggest a calculated attempt to manipulate legal systems to suppress free speech, a fundamental violation of copyright law principles and an abuse of legal processes. The use of such tactics not only undermines the integrity of copyright protection but also potentially constitutes perjury, further entangling Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group in legal accountability. Let’s examine the information Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group may be trying to remove from the internet –

Investigative Report: Examining Allegations Against Brian Korienek of Goldstone Financial Group

Introduction

Brian Korienek, a Partner and Vice President of Wealth Management at Goldstone Financial Group, has established a strong public profile in the financial advisory world. Holding Series 7 and 66 licenses as well as an Illinois Life & Health Insurance License, Korienek has built a career helping clients navigate complex investment landscapes. He is featured in public forums like Fox 32 Chicago and WLS 890AM radio, where he provides insights into securing financial futures. However, behind this polished image lies a history of disputes, allegations, and controversies that have raised questions about his professional integrity and practices.

This report provides an in-depth examination of the adverse claims, complaints, and legal actions surrounding Brian Korienek and his association with Goldstone Financial Group. It seeks to clarify the implications of these issues for clients, regulatory agencies, and the broader financial industry.

Who Is Brian Korienek?

As a financial advisor at Goldstone Financial Group, Korienek specializes in retirement planning and investment strategies. He promotes himself as someone who guides clients in achieving financial security. However, his reputation is clouded by customer disputes and controversies linked to his professional practices. His tenure at Goldstone Financial Group coincides with regulatory challenges faced by the firm, including investigations into their investment recommendations.

Major Allegations and Complaints Against Brian Korienek

1. Misrepresentation and Fraud

One of the most serious allegations against Korienek involves the recommendation of unsuitable investments:

• Unregistered Securities:
  • In 2016, a customer alleged that Korienek recommended investing in 1st Global Capital, LLC, an unregistered security unsuitable for the client’s risk tolerance. The Illinois Securities Laws anti-fraud provisions were allegedly violated, resulting in significant financial losses for the client.
  • Outcome: The case was settled for $11,783.86, but the settlement did not include an admission of wrongdoing by Korienek.
• Misrepresentation of Risk:
  • Clients allege that Korienek failed to provide an accurate portrayal of the risks associated with certain investments, particularly high-risk products that were inappropriate for individuals with conservative risk profiles.

2. Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Clients have accused Korienek of failing to act in their best interests, a fundamental requirement of fiduciary duty:

• Allegations of Unsuitability:
  • Multiple disputes center on the claim that Korienek recommended high-risk investments that did not align with the financial goals or risk tolerances of his clients.
  • Specific Case: A client sought $100,000 in damages, alleging that Korienek breached his fiduciary responsibilities by prioritizing commissions over client welfare.
• Failure to Supervise:
  • Allegations include inadequate monitoring of investment portfolios, leading to avoidable losses and erosion of client trust.

3. Regulatory and Legal Actions

Korienek’s professional record includes multiple customer disputes documented by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA):

• Customer Disputes:
  • FINRA records show four customer disputes against Korienek, primarily involving claims of:
    • Misrepresentation
    • Omission of material facts
    • Unsuitable investment recommendations
• Termination from Taylor Capital Management, Inc.:
  • In April 2018, Korienek’s employment with Taylor Capital Management was terminated. Although the circumstances surrounding this termination are not fully disclosed, it contributes to the cloud of suspicion over his professional conduct.

Goldstone Financial Group’s Troubled History

Korienek’s association with Goldstone Financial Group places him within a firm that has faced its own legal and regulatory challenges. The actions of the firm’s leadership, as well as its broader operational practices, have compounded the controversies surrounding Korienek.

1. SEC Investigations and Cease-and-Desist Orders

In March 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated proceedings against Goldstone Financial Group, its founders Anthony and Michael Pellegrino, and its advisors. The case involved allegations related to:

• Sale of Unregistered Securities:
  • The SEC accused Goldstone of marketing and selling securities through 1 Global Capital LLC, an entity that later filed for bankruptcy amid allegations of fraud.
• Inadequate Disclosure:
  • The SEC found that Goldstone failed to adequately disclose the fees and commissions it earned from these sales.

2. Customer Lawsuits

• In 2018, a group of investors filed a lawsuit against Goldstone Financial Group, claiming they were misled into investing in unregistered securities, resulting in significant losses. Although the case was voluntarily dismissed in 2019, the allegations cast doubt on the firm’s business practices.

3. Mixed Customer Feedback

Goldstone Financial Group maintains an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has garnered positive reviews from some clients. However, complaints about misleading investment advice, aggressive sales tactics, and mismanagement of client funds persist, particularly on independent review sites.

Impact on Clients

1. Financial Losses

Clients who invested in high-risk securities, such as 1st Global Capital LLC, reported substantial financial losses. These investments were often unsuitable for individuals seeking low-risk or conservative options, leading to significant dissatisfaction.

2. Erosion of Trust

The recurring allegations of misrepresentation, unsuitable recommendations, and fiduciary breaches have damaged client trust in both Korienek and Goldstone Financial Group. Many clients feel that their financial well-being was secondary to the firm’s pursuit of commissions.

3. Legal and Financial Consequences

For clients entangled in disputed investments, the process of seeking restitution through legal or regulatory channels has proven costly and time-consuming.

Lessons and Implications

For Financial Advisors

• Transparency and Integrity:
  • Advisors must prioritize the interests of their clients, ensuring that all recommendations are tailored to individual goals and risk tolerances.
• Regulatory Compliance:
  • Full compliance with SEC, FINRA, and state-level regulations is critical to maintaining professional integrity and avoiding legal action.

For Clients

• Due Diligence:
  • Potential investors should thoroughly vet financial advisors and firms before entrusting them with their portfolios. Tools like FINRA BrokerCheck can reveal past disputes and regulatory actions.
• Understanding Risk:
  • Clients should seek clear explanations of the risks associated with any investment product and avoid advisors who fail to provide transparent advice.

For the Industry

• Enhanced Oversight:
  • Regulatory bodies must continue to scrutinize advisory firms, particularly those with histories of customer disputes and legal challenges.
• Accountability:
  • Financial professionals must be held accountable for unethical practices to protect investors and preserve trust in the industry.

Conclusion

While Brian Korienek has cultivated a visible presence in the financial advisory field, his career is marred by allegations of misconduct, including misrepresentation, fiduciary breaches, and the promotion of unsuitable investments. These issues, compounded by the legal and regulatory troubles of Goldstone Financial Group, raise serious questions about the firm’s commitment to ethical practices and client welfare.

For prospective clients, Korienek’s record serves as a cautionary tale, emphasizing the importance of due diligence and transparency in financial decision-making. As the financial advisory landscape continues to evolve, cases like this underscore the need for rigorous regulatory enforcement and heightened accountability across the industry.

How do we counteract this malpractice?

Once we ascertain the involvement of Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group (or actors working on behalf of Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group), we will inform Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group of our findings via Electronic Mail.

Our preliminary assessment suggests that Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group may have engaged a third-party reputation management agency or expert, which, either independently or under direct authorization from Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group, initiated efforts to remove adverse online content, including potentially fraudulent DMCA takedown requests. We will extend an opportunity to Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group to provide details regarding their communications with the agency or expert, as well as the identification of the individual(s) responsible for executing these false DMCA notices.

Failure to respond in a timely manner will necessitate a reassessment of our initial assumptions. In such an event, we will be compelled to take appropriate legal action to rectify the unlawful conduct and take the following steps –

Since Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and sensitive information targeted online by these events get a lot more exposure and traffic than what it would have received originally

We hope this becomes an excellent case study for the Streisand effect…The key idea behind the Streisand effect is that efforts to restrict information can backfire, often causing the information to gain more attention than it would have otherwise. This effect is widespread in the digital age, where users quickly notice and spread censorship efforts on social media and other platforms. Trying to suppress something can unintentionally lead to it becoming more visible, which Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group is finding out the hard way.

Potential Consequences for Brian Korienek - Goldstone Financial Group

Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.

Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.

Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.”  Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).

Is Brian Korienek - Goldstone Financial Group Committing a Cyber Crime?

Yes, it seems so. Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.

Faced with these limitations, some companies like Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group is certainly keeping interesting company here….

The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.

Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.

Reputation Agency's Modus Operandi

The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.

Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.

As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.

The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.

The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.

In committing numerous offences, Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. FSMSmart is certainly keeping interesting company here.

The Reputation Laundering

Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.

The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.

In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.

This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.

Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group is in great company ….

What else is Brian Korienek - Goldstone Financial Group hiding?

We encourage you to ‘Dork‘ Google by searching for keyword combinations such as [Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group] + {Negative Keyword, such as Scam, Fraud, Complaints, Lawsuit, Sanction, etc} on Google. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)

To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with industry experts and researchers. If you have any information on Brian Korienek – Goldstone Financial Group that you want to share with experts and journalists, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].

All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.