LPL Financial said late Wednesday that it has officially cut ties with Eileen Cure, an affiliated adviser blasted on social media by allegations of racism after viral TikTok videos surfaced of her allegedly telling employees she will not interview Black job applicants.
"Following our process for review of adviser conduct, Ms. Cure is no longer a client of the firm," an LPL spokesperson said in a statement.
In a statement sent to InvestmentNews, Cure called the TikTok videos "false and defamatory" and said the allegations spurred threats of violence and bodily harm against her and her staff.
“The entirety of this situation is based upon a TikTok video published by an unrelated individual without press credentials or affiliations using an unauthenticated photo of an alleged internal office chat without validation or context of any content. This published photo and along with subsequent related false and defamatory materials and statements, which have incited false commentary and threats of violence and bodily harm toward me and my staff and acts which are being investigated as criminal in nature, are being publicized on a social media platform by a third party who is not related or in any way affiliated with me or my office.
“Additional third parties who are utilizing these TikTok posts for further publication appear to be doing so without further investigation or validation,” Cure continued. “In response to this situation, I have taken all necessary action to protect the safety and security of employees, clients, and parties related to my business.”
Cure is president of Cure and Associates, a registered adviser in Nederland, Texas, a city about 90 miles east of Houston, with a population more than 80% white. Cure was the subject of the viral video after one of her staff members allegedly forwarded screenshots of Skype messages to Denise Bradley, who goes by the TikTok handle auntkaren0 and has more than 1 million followers. Bradley built her following by posting daily examples of alleged racism on the popular video platform.
Bradley said that she finds Cure's response to the allegations "comical."
"Here you have a white woman that has [been] caught being racist, in my opinion, but would rather look like the victim, up against a Black woman," Bradley wrote in an email. "We’ve seen this done in history time and time again. She doesn’t want to admit fault but would rather try and make a Black woman the guilty party. I welcome any challenge that Eileen has. I will always stand up against racism and this issue is no different."
Bradley posted a series of videos regarding Cure’s alleged discriminatory hiring practices, which shows Skype messages from Cure saying to her staff after interviewing a Black job applicant: “I specifically said no blacks.”
“I have taken steps to confirm that race never has and will not be a factor in hiring decisions at my firm,” Cure said in the statement. “I am committed to continuing to ensure that my firm and other business interests will not tolerate incitement of violence, judgment before due process, or discrimination or harassment of individuals with regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status, or on the basis of any other legally protected status or characteristic.”
LPL Financial immediately launched an internal investigation to review the matter after seeing the videos alleging discriminatory comments by Cure. "We will not tolerate discrimination of any kind in our LPL community,” an LPL spokesperson said.
Bradley also posted TikTok videos showing alleged Skype messages from Cure saying she is meeting with attorneys to have the TikTok account shut down. Bradley also posted Skype messages that claim several employees at Cure’s firm have resigned following the racism allegations, which were originally reported by the trade publication Financial Planning.
In a third TikTok video update posted Tuesday, Bradley shared more Skype messages from Cure allegedly telling her staff that she won’t give references to staff members that resign.
"That behavior, if true, is absolutely abhorrent and I commend the whistleblowers," said Sonya Dreizler, diversity, equity and inclusion expert for the advisory community and founder of Solutions with Sonya. Dreizler made her comments prior to LPL's decision to remove Cure.
This reflects "the changing attitudes of younger generations [who are] not as willing to sweep things like this under the rug,” Dreizler said.
Cure, who said she is pursuing legal action, could have a strong case for defamation if she didn’t type the statement that was published on TikTok, said Max Schatzow, a partner at Stark & Stark who specializes in counseling investment advisers, broker-dealers, and private investment companies. Schatzow is not connected to Cure's case and made his comments prior to LPL's decision to remove Cure as a client.
“She would have a case against the person who published the initial statement," he said. "She might also have claims against TikTok and other news publications that rebroadcasted the statement.
"On the flipside, if the statement being presented is true, the interviewee would have legitimate claims for discrimination under federal law, and likely state law too, based on racial discrimination," Schatzow said.
"These laws provide the interviewee with the potential for damages that are intended to punish Cure’s company," he added. "I would imagine that the interviewee would name LPL Financial if they brought a claim too, even though Cure’s relationship with them is on an independent contractor basis, because they have the deep pockets."
This story has been updated to include comment from LPL Financial, Denise Bradley and her background, Sonya Dreizler, and Max Schatzow.
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