Feb. 29, 2024
Salem – The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) issued a cease-and-desist order and fined Laura O. Shean and her company, PlanNow, LLC, a total of $140,000 for conducting unlicensed investment adviser activity and engaging in securities fraud.
The division, in an
order filed in December 2023, also ordered Shean to pay $20,000 of previously suspended civil penalties because Shean violated a prior order the division issued in 2019. Shean was licensed as a securities salesperson, investment adviser representative, and resident insurance producer, but her insurance and securities licenses in Oregon were revoked by DFR in 2019. The division revoked Shean's licenses because Shean misappropriated, through a series of six unauthorized transactions in 2017, more than $124,000 from an elderly client. In 2018, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) permanently barred Shean from associating with any FINRA member in any capacity. In 2019, Shean consented to an order issued by the division that permanently bars her from holding any securities or insurance licenses in Oregon and ordered Shean to cease and desist from violating the Oregon securities law.
Following the issuance of the
2019 consent order, the division investigated Shean's ongoing business activities and compliance with the consent order. The division learned through a consumer complaint that Shean, through PlanNow, was willfully and repeatedly engaging in unlicensed investment adviser activity, contrary to the terms of the consent order and in violation of the Oregon securities law. Shean was operating the PlanNow business in a manner calculated to conceal her unlawful business activities.
During the division's investigation of Shean's ongoing business activities and compliance with the consent order, Shean filed a false statement with DFR in 2021. In that statement, Shean falsely denied that she engaged in investment adviser business activities after the division issued the 2019 consent order.
DFR reminds people to do business only with investment professionals who are licensed in Oregon. On DFR's website, you can check for a license and file a complaint if you believe you have been defrauded or been the victim of a scam. Our consumer advocates can be reached by calling 888-877-4894 (toll-free) or emailing
dfr.financialserviceshelp@dcbs.oregon.gov.
The division also has recently published a tool – the
Oregon Investor Guide – to give consumers another resource before investing money.
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About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon's largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. Visit
dfr.oregon.gov and
www.dcbs.oregon.gov.