Russian spy stripped of CFP credentials

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. finally has revoked Russian spy Cynthia A. Murphy of her planning credentials. The CFP Board today announced as part of a series of disciplinary actions that in August, it took away her right to use the CFP designation. The group had investigated allegations that Ms. Murphy — whose real name is Lydia Guryev — was a spy and alleged in a complaint that she had pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy and misrepresented herself as a U.S. citizen. She and nine other spies were arrested in June following a seven-year investigation by the FBI. The organization considered its allegations to be admitted after Ms. Murphy failed to file an answer to the CFP Board's complaint. She was sent to Russia on July 9 after a federal judge sentenced Ms. Murphy and nine other spies to time served, and ordered their deportation. The delay in the revocation of Ms. Murphy's certification was the result of the CFP Board's process for investigating and disciplining its certificants, said Dan Drummond, a spokesman. Following notification of an interim suspension, CFP holders get 20 days to respond to any allegations. If they don't get back to the organization in time, they get a second notice of administrative revocation, followed by another appeal process that can take 30 days. Overall, it can take up to 90 days for a CFP certificant to have a designation revoked. “The delay was out of our standards, which are there to give everyone a fair chance to make their case known,” Mr. Drummond said. “With Ms. Murphy not being in the country, she had been given the right to respond based on her last address. Therefore, revocation was issued,” he said. “As a matter of fairness, everyone is treated the same, irrespective of the transgression.”