Sam L. Thornal II an agent for Ameriprise Financial in Addison Texas advertises himself as a "financial advisor" and someone who is helpful for recent divorcees.
What Sam does is sell Insurance under the cover of "Financial Advice." He is NOT a financial advisor although he has all the documents stating he is.
Sam looked at my income and current financial situation and suggested I invest in a $500K VUL policy and put 20K of my life earnings into a Fund of Funds.
The VUL policy is loaded with fees Sam NEVER disclosed and I foolishly signed up for it trusting his advice. I make $60,000 before taxes and he had me putting $500.00 of my bring home into the VUL. Sam and Ameriprise were taking at least half of that money in fees and getting rich on it while I became poorer every day.
The Fund of Funds account is supposed to be a fund whose content is a collection of mutual funds managed by some expert him and his collaborators at Ameriprise and Riversource have absolute confidence in. Turns out it was a regular FRONT LOADED Fund which he did not disclose at the time of my signing up for it.
Summary:
ONE account, Sam Thornal put me in this account where I pay $120.00/year just to have what any bank gives away for free... Checking, online banking, atm, drafts, etc. You have to set this account up or he will not do business with you.
VUL policy: about half of my monthly dues went to Sam Thornal.
"VUL's are for people who make more than $250K/year" (Warren Buffet)
Mutual Funds: The setup paid Sam Thornal a fat commission and left me holding 2/3's or what I originally invested, since he received his commission up front.
Fees: Sam Thornal charges an escalating fee which he negotiates originally but then raises annually without any notice. He drafts the money directly from the ONE account he insisted on setting up.
Prymaid Scheme: Sam gives his customers discounts if they can bring in their friends. It is how I ended up in his office and let him earn my trust as he used my best friend to sell his services to me.
By the time I figured out what had happened, 2 years went by and I lost my nest egg to Sam Thornal who turned from "nice guy" to a lawyer pulling paperwork out from years ago and telling me that I signed up for it and everything is "LEGAL"
The concepts of "TRUST", "ADVISOR", "AGENT THAT ACTS ON YOUR BEHALF" are all alien to Sam Thornal. He is a liar and is nothing more than an Insurance Salesman operating under the cover of Financial Advisor. He's a predator that takes advantage of the uneducated, recently divorced and others who are venerable.
PLEASE LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE, AVOID Sam Thornal II in Addison TX, he is a liar and a cheat and will take your money.
I filed a complaint with Sam Thornal's manager who was more interested in taking the fees Sam charged me if he was going to deal with me.
I filed a formal complaint with Ameriprise, let's see if they say or do anything.
His predatory practies.
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