WHEN YOU GET SCAMMED, NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE YOU
December 2025
If you get ripped off as an investor — if you get scammed, misled, or trapped by a financial con artist — here’s the hard truth: you are left to the sharks. No cavalry is coming. No regulator is riding in at the last second to save you. That realization hit me again this week while reading yet another enforcement case that should never have been allowed to happen in the first place.
It also reminded me of one of my favorite movies of all time: Jaws. My wife can’t stand it because if it’s on television and I’m even remotely tired, that’s it — I’m locked in. I’ve probably watched it a hundred times. The summer atmosphere, the pacing, the dialogue, the tension — it’s perfect filmmaking. But one scene always sticks with me more than any other: Quint’s story about the USS Indianapolis.
If you’ve seen it, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The ship gets torpedoed. The mission is a secret. No rescue comes. Sailors are left floating alone in the water for days — and the sharks take over. That scene still gives me chills. And honestly, that’s exactly how the financial system treats everyday investors once the damage is done.
The regulators already know who the bad actors are. They always do. The problem is they wait until after the damage is catastrophic before they act — if they act at all.
Here’s the latest example. A firm called AG Morgan Financial Advisors and its key officers, Vincent Camarda and James MacArthur, were suspended by FINRA after losing multiple arbitration cases brought by clients. These cases weren’t minor. We’re talking about millions of dollars in losses tied to risky, undisclosed, and outright abusive investments.
And right out of the gate, let’s talk about the firm’s name — AG Morgan. That alone is a red flag the size of a billboard. Designed to sound like JPMorgan. Designed to project legitimacy. That trick is as old as the movie Boiler Room. You don’t accidentally pick a name like that. That’s branding with intent — and not the good kind.
These two individuals were ordered to pay roughly seven million dollars to clients after steering them into dangerous and unsuitable investments. The clients ranged in age from 54 to 83 years old. Many of them lost large portions of their life savings. Over four million dollars vanished into promissory notes tied directly to private investment funds owned and operated by Camarda himself — meaning the money went straight into his own pockets.
It gets worse.
These individuals had prior histories across multiple firms in New York and New Jersey. There were more than 200 investors, tens of millions in losses, and more than two dozen customer complaints already on record. This wasn’t hidden. This wasn’t some mystery that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The warning signs were there the entire time.
So, here’s the real question: how were they ever allowed to keep operating in the first place?
And that brings us right back to Jaws. No rescue boat. No help on the way. Once investors are in trouble, the sharks take over and the system just watches.
This is exactly why I say, over and over again: the SEC is not coming to save you. FINRA is not coming to save you. The court system will not make you whole. If you’re lucky, years later, you might recover pennies on the dollar after bankruptcy filings, asset shielding, offshore accounts, and legal gymnastics drain whatever is left.
That’s not pessimism. That’s experience.
You live in an age where it takes five minutes to check someone’s registration status, complaint history, and disciplinary record. There are no excuses anymore. I’m not minimizing how slick these criminals can be — many of them are elite-level salespeople. But charisma is not credibility.
And if you don’t know how to check someone out, that’s what we’re here for. Call us. Message us. Send the name. We’ll tell you exactly what you’re dealing with before your money disappears.
Because once the damage is done, you’re in the water — and the sharks don’t give refunds.
