Ethics Bureau misrepresented

As advocates for ethics and integrity in financial services, we commend your coverage of the U.S. Senate’s Special Committee on Aging hearings on senior investment fraud (“Fraud against seniors rises, panel is told,” Sept. 6). However, we were appalled by your misrepresentation of the National Ethics Bureau, an organization of background-checked financial professionals.

The article repeated testimony by William Francis Galvin, Massachusetts’ secretary of the commonwealth, that all it takes to join our organization is filling out a five-minute online application. In fact, after a prospective member applies, our staff completes an eight-step background check that takes 10 to 30 days.

We hope you do a better job in the future of distinguishing between the sharks that prey on seniors and organizations such as ours that help consumers avoid shark-infested waters.

Steven R. McCarty

Chairman

Jeffrey S. Kopitz

President

National Ethics Bureau

San Diego