Wealth promoter sued by LV law firm

Friday, Nov. 16, 2001 | 9:41 a.m.

The Las Vegas-based law firm of Kummer, Kaempfer, Bonner & Renshaw Ltd. sued to recover $10,458 in alleged unpaid fees from Seattle-based investment advice provider Wade Cook Financial Corp. and its subsidiary Stock Market Institute of Learning Inc.

Wade Cook Financial, which sold alleged "get-rich-quick" investment seminars, books and tapes, was accused by government regulators of securities fraud, deceptive trade practices and violations of consumer protection laws. The Federal Trade Commission and several states ended their lawsuits and investigations of Cook's company after it entered into a consent decree last year.

Troy Romero, Wade Cook's Bellevue, Wash.-based attorney, said he wasn't sure about the nature of Kummer's legal fee claims, but said he believed these claims are unrelated to legal work that was provided to deal with lawsuits by the FTC and the states.

"The Kummer firm was doing work for Stock Market, formerly known as Wade Cook Seminars Inc. Kummer may have been involved in connection with Stock Market's business dealings in Nevada," he said. "Wade Cook Financial teaches the advantages of setting up Nevada corporations since Nevada is one of the most business-friendly states. We don't know how many hundreds of thousands of businesses Stock Market has helped set up in Nevada and Kummer was probably the resident guru with regards to corporate law in Nevada."

Romero said the FTC and the states' lawsuits were settled without a finding of any wrongdoing by Wade Cook Financial. As part of the settlement, the company placed disclaimers on certain advertisements and made tuition refunds of about $500,000-$600,000 to students of one of its courses, the "Wall Street Workshop."