Following the incident, Iannazzo was fired from Merrill and charged with a hate crime—"intimidation based on bigotry or bias, breach of peace and criminal trespass”—for throwing a smoothie at a teenage employee and calling her a “f—ing immigrant” amid an expletive-filled rant.
Iannazzo picked up a smoothie earlier in the day, only to return to the shop later to confront its employees. He claims he was given a smoothie that sent his 17-year-old son to the hospital with “life threatening anaphylactic shock” despite telling the staff about his son’s peanut allergy. The staff says Iannazzo asked for no peanut butter in the smoothie, but did not mention the allergy. Iannazzo later apologized.
Currently, the CFP suspension is temporary, but could become permanent. With the suspension he is not allowed to use the CFP mark next to his name. He’s also banned from even suggesting he holds such a designation.
The CFP Board found that Iannazzo's conduct “significantly impinges upon the reputation of the [financial planning] profession and the CFP certification marks," according to the article.
“Iannazzo verbally and physically abused certain employees of a smoothie shop, one of whom was reportedly a minor, near his home on January 22, 2022, which was captured on video and widely publicized through media and social media outlets."