Elderly clients thought they had every reason to trust Michael DelMonico as a financial counselor. After all, the Massachusetts insurance agent had become a certified senior adviser in 2002, a credential he made sure to advertise on fliers sent to retirees.
He did not mention how easy it had been to get that title.

He had paid $1,095 for a correspondence course, then took a multiple-choice exam with questions like, “Marketing can best be described as:â€