Advisors in Texas and California banned for fraud scams

Two advisors were penalized last week for scamming clients and advisory firms out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Brooklynn Chandler Willy, 46, pleaded guilty Thursday for her role in a Ponzi scheme, said the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Willy owned a San Antonio-based company named Queen B Advisors, doing business as Texas Financial Advisory, and Chandler Capital Holdings. Among other services, TFA purported to provide asset management and financial planning services.

The second case involved Avinesh K. Shankar, a former financial advisor and broker, previously registered with Pruco Securities in Roseville, Calif. Shankar was barred from the securities industry by FINRA on Thursday after settling allegations that he forged customer signatures to collect unearned commissions.

Radio personality

Willy hosted the Texas Financial Radio Show and podcast, which aired on several San Antonio stations. The show typically featured financial planning advice for retirees and pre-retirees.

According to court documents, at Willy’s recommendation, a married couple invested money into an investment company named Ferrum Capital in March 2018. Ferrum Capital was one of four investment companies allegedly run by co-defendants Joshua Allen and Michael Cox.

In May 2021, Willy again advised the victim couple to invest $500,000 with another Ferrum entity, using Chandler Capital Holdings as the agent to execute and deliver contracts. Rather than investing the funds as intended, Willy used the $500,000 to pay personal credit card payments, payments to other investors, and payments to another business owned and controlled by Willy, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Willy continued her scheme with additional victims, investigators say, convincing a separate married couple to invest about $2 million dollars in an associate’s company by promising that the investment would be used for the purchase of bad debt and other legitimate investments.

But Willy again used the money for personal purchases, payments to her associate, and payments to other investors, the U.S. Attorney said. Willy also convinced two other investors to invest $75,000 and $600,000 respectively into what Willy claimed were legitimate business investments, but were also used for her own benefit.

During the course of the federal investigation, Willy forged the signatures of various victims on documents and provided those documents to federal agents for the purpose of misleading those agents, the U.S. Attorney said.

Willy conspired with Allen and Cox by giving false information to investors concerning their investment in entities owned and controlled by Allen and Cox. Working with Cox and Allen, Willy convinced numerous investors to invest into a Cox and Allen controlled entity by falsely stating those investments were investments into legitimate business activities. In truth, much of that money went to the benefit of Cox, Allen, and Willy, the U.S. Attorney said.

Willy pleaded guilty to 10 counts, including wire fraud and money laundering. She faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the six wire fraud charges, on the one wire fraud conspiracy charge, and on the one money laundering conspiracy charge.

Allen and Cox are scheduled for a jury trial in August.

Phony signatures

Shankar was an advisor for Pruco Securities until February 2024, when he was discharged for submitting inaccurate annuity applications with “non-genuine electronic signatures,” FINRA reported.

Between November 2022 and January 2024, Shankar allegedly forged the signatures of 64 customers on 115 annuity applications using electronic signature software without their consent.

He is accused of receiving $511,609.74 in advanced commission payments for these annuities, which were reportedly never funded by the customers. The allegations include conversion of funds, forgery, and causing the firm to maintain inaccurate books and records, violating a pair of FINRA rules.

According to FINRA documents, Shankar forged client signatures on multiple annuity applications. When each of the 115 annuities remained unfunded for 90 days after Shankar’s submission of the annuity application, Pruco attempted to recoup the advanced commissions by deducting them from Shankar’s next paychecks.

The firm eventually confronted Shankar and fired him after he admitted to the scam, FINRA documents say. At the time of his departure, Shankar owed the firm $163,910.71 for unearned commissions he received in connection with the forged annuity applications.

© Entire contents copyright 2026 by InsuranceNewsNet.com Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com.