Former Carson Group chief marketing officer Mary-Kate Gulick has dropped her lawsuit in which she alleged she was fired by the mega-RIA in retaliation for raising concerns about how the company handled a report of alleged sexual assault involving an employee at an industry conference.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska dismissed Gulick’s complaint on December 26, more than a year after she initially filed suit in April 2024. Carson Group, which is based in Omaha and manages more than $50 billion in assets, has denied Gulick’s allegations and has said in court filings that she altered medical records submitted in connection with her request for paid leave related to mental health issues following the reported incident.
The alleged misconduct involved an unnamed, non-managerial Carson employee and an attendee at a conference held in late 2022, according to the lawsuit. Carson Group has been minority-owned by private equity giant Bain Capital since 2021, becoming one of the industry's most acquisitive RIAs.
“We have consistently denied Ms. Gulick’s allegations against Carson,” said a Carson Group spokesperson. “In July 2025, we asked the Court to dismiss Ms. Gulick’s lawsuit, detailing numerous alterations to Ms. Gulick’s medical records used in the lawsuit. Following our request to the Court, Ms. Gulick’s original lawyers withdrew from the case. Ms. Gulick has since acknowledged that she altered her medical records prior to producing the records in the lawsuit.”
“I needed this to be over,” Gulick told InvestmentNews. “There was no way I was carrying this into 2026 with me. I needed to move on and I’m glad we could come to a resolution.”
Gulick worked at Carson from June 2021 to June 2023 and is now a fractional chief marketing officer at the $43 billion RIA Moneta, based in St. Louis. Earlier in her career, she held marketing roles at IBM and TD Ameritrade.
“Ms. Gulick has made the decision to withdraw her lawsuit, seeking its dismissal with prejudice,” Carson Group said in a statement. “Ms. Gulick is receiving no financial payment from our firm or any related entity and has agreed to repay Carson for a portion of our costs. We are satisfied with this resolution and look forward to focusing all our resources on our advisors, their clients and our employees.”
Burt White has served as Carson Group’s CEO since he replaced founder Ron ‘Omani’ Carson in April 2024, weeks before Gulick filed her lawsuit. Court filings include screenshots of Microsoft Teams messages exchanged in 2022 between Gulick and White, who was then the firm’s chief strategy officer, praising her performance roughly a year before her termination.
“I am very proud and thankful for you being such a pro at an org that isn't,” White wrote to Gulick in Sept. 2022. “How you have kept it together, performed with grace, and outwardly maintained your sanity is – well frankly – one of the greatest professional acts I have ever seen.”
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