Mariner Recruited 'Double Agent' to Poach Clients, Lawsuit Claims

Mariner Wealth Advisors is facing two more lawsuits over alleged client poaching and attempts to steal trade secrets.

A Jan. 12 lawsuit filed by RWA Wealth Partners accuses Mariner of conducting a ”clandestine scheme” to obtain an “unfair advantage in the wealth management industry by destabilizing the contractual relationships of a competitor, stealing its proprietary information, and accessing its computer data and network without permission.”

Mariner Wealth’s “clandestine plot,” according to the suit, centered on the recruitment of “an ‘inside man’ — finding the perfect double agent in Brandon Berman, a then wealth manager for competitor Polaris Wealth Advisory Group, LLC.”

In early 2022, RWA purchased Polaris Wealth Advisory Group, based in San Rafael, California.

Mariner, according to the RWA suit, “knew their ‘inside man’ was well-positioned to execute their subterfuge because Berman managed (or assisted in managing) more than one hundred of Polaris’ client relationships and had access to Polaris’ proprietary systems and client data.”

‘Benedict Arnold’

The suit alleges that Berman served a “Benedict Arnold role,” and that Mariner “coached and directed him to surreptitiously feed them confidential and proprietary client data and business information, and to steal clients.”

The suit continues: “Worse still, it appears that Defendants [Mariner] encourage their ‘inside men’ to do all of this before those people provide their employer any hint that they intend to resign and jump to” Mariner.

In March 2022, Berman informed Mariner that he had used Polaris’ systems to create a client list “chock-full of proprietary information without Polaris’ or Polaris’ clients’ permission or knowledge — a document he had creatively named ‘the List,’” the suit states.

Upon learning this, Mariner “did not tell him to stop or to delete the document. Instead, it appears they arranged to speak with (and/or get information from) Berman’s lawyers to create a cover story and develop a game plan to cover their collusion — including a memo that provided tips and tricks on how to avoid getting caught when stealing confidential information (and plaintiff believes that there will be additional evidentiary support for this connection after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery),” the suit states.

Mariner, the suit states, “brazenly accepted ‘the List’ from Berman, with knowledge of the improper circumstances under which it was created and fully aware that Berman had no right to possess it and no right to give it” to Mariner.