Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTPatrick DonachieMon, August 10, 2026 at 6:50 PM GMT+2 3 min readYou can find original article here WealthManagement. Subscribe to our free daily WealthManagement newsletters.The principals of a Focus Financial partner firm are accusing the RIA aggregator of "bullying" tactics to obtain business information they claim Focus had no right to access.A judge in a Texas District Court granted a temporary restraining order last week in favor of Levi McMillien and Brian Chastain, who claimed Focus sought information about the duo and their non-Focus-affiliated endeavors (including personal tax returns, bank statements and canceled checks). The TRO is in place for two weeks, with a future hearing scheduled for the duo to argue for a permanent injunction.In 2017, CFO4Life, the Coppell, Texas-based RIA founded by McMellien and Chastain, joined Focus, becoming its first partner firm headquartered in Texas. The duo founded CFO4Life in 2006 as an accounting and tax firm affiliated with LPL Financial, but later became a comprehensive wealth practice. The pair left LPL in 2012 and subsequently affiliated with Ausdal Financial Partners (and have retained that affiliation). At the time, McMellian claimed they were joining Focus due to its "M&A resources and value-add services," according to the 2017 statement.According to their TRO request, Focus acquired most of the firm's RIA assets and paid McMellian and Chastain a management fee to run the RIA business. The duo claimed Focus had paid the fee as expected for years, but beginning last November, Focus began withholding it (the two claim that as of late June, the total unpaid fees exceed $1.09 million).The parties agreed to mediation, but according to McMellian and Chastain, "Focus turned the dispute extra-contractual and began scorching the earth with its self-help bullying tactics." First, they claimed Focus issued a "litigation-hold notice" on all CFO4Life employees, while threatening to fire a worker who maintained the company's books and records. The pair also claimed the action threatened the company's well-being, unsettling the workforce and risking its stability."The business's clients did not choose Focus, do not know Focus and have no interest in being drawn into a dispute between their service provider and capital partner with whom they have never dealt," according to court filings. "Confronted with that turmoil, clients are likely to take their business elsewhere."The alleged tactics didn't end there, according to McMellian and Chastain. On July 27, Focus reportedly demanded access for its counsel and a retained forensic firm to access books and records beyond what it was permitted to see under the original management agreement. While McMellian and Chastain allowed them to view CFO4Life's business records, they disputed the additional requests. The pair claimed Focus "showed up with multiple lawyers" the following day to obtain information about the advisors and their other business information (including their relationships with Ausdal). Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info