Scott Trendell, a controversial supporter of newly announced New Hampshire U.S. Senate Republican hopeful Don Bolduc, was once forced to pay over $35,000 in an out-of-court settlement in a case alleging Trendell intentionally recommended unsuitable stock that cost his client more than $55,000 in losses. The settlement surrounding the investment in Arena Pharmaceuticals took place in 2015.

The latest controversy, unearthed in public disclosures reviewed by the American Ledger, come after the Union Leader reported that the NH Bureau of Securities Regulation fined Trendell $5,000 and ordered him to pay an additional $5,000 in costs following their investigation into his alleged failure to ensure equities he sold to an investor were suitable to the investor’s “age, risk, tolerance, investment, objective and financial situation.”

In Bolduc’s announcement video released on June 24, 2019, Trendell appeared under the name “friend” and described Bolduc as an “American hero.”

When pressed on the matter, Bolduc rebuffed the findings of local authorities, calling Trendell a friend, and labeling the reporting as “the work of a negative political machine that knows it is not going to win.”

If Bolduc wins the NH Republican primary in September 2020, he would face off in the general election against Democratic incumbent Jean Shaheen, who is running for reelection to the U.S. Senate.