AWisconsin woman lost her entire retirement savings by investing with a nowdeceased friend ’ s business , My IRA , LLC , according to the Milwaukee NBC television affiliate TMJ4 . It seems the company attempted to resemble an SDIRA a SelfDirected Individual Retirement Account custodian .
My IRA , LLC was started by a tax preparer and purported investor , Michael Cuccia , who suddenly died in November 2020 , according to TMJ4 . When people who had invested in his company sought the return of their assets , they were stunned to learn that most of them were nowhere to be found , according to TMJ4 .
Attorney Anne Cohen stated that her client Diane Conklin had a 401 ( K ) account , but needed to figure out her best options when she broke her back in 2012 .
' She had learned that she could no longer work and wanted to make sure that the funds she had in her 401 ( K ) were in a secure account ,” Cohen told TMJ4 . “ Because she quickly was learning that was all of the wealth she was going to amass in her lifetime due to her disability .'
According to Cohen , Conklin knew Cuccia professionally and also considered him a friend . Cuccia told Conklin to take her money out of her 401 ( K ) account and invest in his My IRA , LLC company , according to a lawsuit Conklin filed against Cuccia ’ s estate .
Retirement Savings Lost After Investment in Fraudulent Company
Resembling SDIRA Custodian
Cuccia claimed Conklin had no risk of losing her assets and she was guaranteed a 5 % return on investment each year , according to Cohen . “... after years and years of friendship and going to him for tax advice , she trusted his advice ,” Cohen told TMJ4 . After Cuccia ’ s sudden death , Conklin and others could not reclaim their assets , according to Cohen . People had invested anywhere from $ 5,000 to $ 200,000 with Cuccia ’ s company , according to Cohen . The total was $ 1 million , but Cuccia only had about $ 200,000 in assets , according to Cohen .
Anyone considering making an investment should be automatically suspicious if they are told there is no risk involved , according to Robin Jacobs from the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions Enforcement Bureau .
By Stephanie Mojica
Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels
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