Date Posted: 
Friday, July 1, 2022

A person using the name Bryant Robert is falsely claiming an association with the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). No individual by the name of Bryant Robert has ever worked for DFI. Bryant Robert may be claiming an affiliation with DFI in an attempt to add legitimacy and gain trust when making LinkedIn connection requests to strangers.

Bryant Robert also appears to be unlawfully holding himself out on LinkedIn as a financial advisor operating in Auburn, Washington. Bryant Robert claims to be a financial advisor for Buddhazorba Investment and Services Private Limited. Neither Bryant Robert nor Buddhazorba are licensed as investment advisors in Washington State or anywhere else in the United States. It is unlawful for any person to hold himself out as a financial advisor in Washington State unless the person is registered in Washington or exempt from registration.

DFI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services. Investment professionals need to be licensed with DFI to offer investments to Washington residents. In addition, most investment products sold need to be registered with DFI.

To check the licensing status and to find out if there are any complaints against an investment professional or investment product, please visit FINRA Brokercheck (https://brokercheck.finra.org) or contact the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Securities Division at (360) 902-8760. If you live outside of Washington State, contact your state securities regulator (https://www.nasaa.org/contact-your-regulator/).

If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding an investment product or service, they may file a complaint with the Securities Division.