Texas revokes license of rep for Woodbridge Wealth sales

Kim Diane Butler breached fiduciary duty by receiving $300,000 in commissions on the sales

Texas securities regulators have revoked the investment adviser representative license of Kim Diane Butler, of Mt. Enterprise, Texas, for her role in the sales of Woodbridge Wealth.

From 2015 through 2017, Butler sold more than $5 million of unregistered alternative investments in Woodbridge Wealth through a network of organizations she owned and operated. She received more than $300,000 in commissions in connection with the sales.

In doing so, the Texas Securities commissioner said in a release, Butler breached the fiduciary duties owed to her clients by never disclosing the fact that she received a commission from the sales and never discussing the conflict of interest that existed because of her financial incentive to recommend clients purchase Woodbridge investments.

In December 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against Woodbridge alleging it to be a massive Ponzi scheme that raised more than $1.2 billion from 8,400 investors across the country.

In addition to revoking her license, Texas ordered Butler to cease and desist from engaging in the unregistered sales of securities and from engaging in further fraudulent conduct.

[More: Woodbridge Group execs charged with criminal fraud in Ponzi scheme]