Lawsuit Filed Against Former Kingsport Financial Broker

  The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a federal lawsuit against a former Kingsport financial broker.  The lawsuit claims Mark Salyer, a former employee with Metlife, committed fraud.  Court papers also say he took more then 6 million dollars from his clients, often using those funds to make land purchases and investing in companies he set up.  Salyer was let go from his position at Metlife in October of 2007.  Both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Secret Service are conducting investigations.  A Metlife spokesperson told News Channel Eleven that Metlife is currently working with the dozens of clients that have claims against Salyer, and they hope to resolve those cases soon.  The Secret Service would only confirm that an investigation is ongoing, and they hope to have it completed before the end of the year. 
Kingsport Resident Maxine Lewis who says she is one of Salyers victims can’t understand why he would do something like this. “He has really put me in dire straights, I really feel like Mark Salyer has taken my lively hood,“ said Lewis.  She claims that Salyer took more then 200-thousand dollars from her.  She says Metlife has offered her a settlement, but that amount is not near what she gave to Salyer to invest.
Salyers attorney’s have not responded to the lawsuit filed in federal court.