As the investing public becomes more skeptical of everyone because of a few shady characters, you should be skeptical about investment advice. First there was Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme and there are dozens more not visible to the public.

Many may not be discovered for years. If the SEC could not be alerted to Bernie Madoff, why do you think they'll find smaller players?  It is up to you to do due diligence and check bank creds. There is always a new fraud hitting the wires flying under the radar.