So the Pikeville couple were surprised to learn in 2003 that their retirement account had shrunk to $16,000 from a peak of $100,000.

"We had to go through an attorney to get any of it back," Clement Thompson said. "It was a nightmare."

A panel of arbitrators sided with the Thompsons and ordered Hall and his employer, Hilliard Lyons, to pay about $40,000 plus interest and attorney fees.

Not long afterward, Hall left Hilliard Lyons and opened Market Street Advisors as an affiliate of Cantella. A spokesman for Hilliard Lyons declined to comment on Hall's tenure at the company.

Andy Whiteman, the Raleigh attorney who represented the Thompsons, said Hall appeared to have "churned" their account. In "churning," a broker makes numerous trades with an investment account simply to generate commission from the account.

"Because of that activity, the Thompsons lost a substantial amount of money," Whiteman said.

Given the number of trades, Clement Thompson said he couldn't figure out what was going on with his account. "He was doing it so fast, we couldn't keep up with the money," he said. "I went around to talk with [Hall], and he didn't have no answers."

Eventually, Hall started avoiding their calls, Melva Thompson said.

The Thompsons started investing with Hall when he worked at Wachovia in Goldsboro in the 1990s. They continued investing with him when he moved to Smithfield and opened the Hilliard Lyons office downtown in 1999.

"The reason I put in with him was he had all the answers," Clement Thompson said.

"He seemed to be so nice," Melva Thompson added.

Clement Thompson said he welcomed the criminal investigation of Hall and Market Street Advisors. "He needs to be put in prison so he can have time to think about it," Clement Thompson said.

If the allegations of fraud prove true, victims could sue Hall and Cantella, said Whiteman, the attorney.

"I think anybody who has claims against Mark Hall also might have claims against any firm that employed him," he said.