Argent Accounting attracted attention June 23 after representatives of the Federal and State Bureaus of Investigation attempted to get in contact with owner Trever Vernon.
Argent Capital Partners, LP, an investment fund also owned by Vernon, has been under investigation by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission since at least March 2026, which Vernon shared with ACP clients in a letter stating the fund had been depleted. The March 3 letter informed clients they may be contacted by CFTC investigators.
Matt Jackson, a Franklin real estate agent and a former client of Vernon’s, said he heard there was police activity June 23 at Argent Accounting’s building on Palmer Street. Arriving at the scene at 9:30 a.m., Jackson said he saw representatives of the Franklin Police Department working with individuals in plainclothes and many unmarked vehicles outside of Argent. Jackson also said he encountered Vernon’s wife, Cheryl Vernon, at the scene, who took photos or video of him.
Jackson, who has been in close contact with other former clients of Argent, said he and others have been interviewed by the FPD, FBI and SBI regarding their experience with Argent leading up to Tuesday. He said he confirmed through conversations with FPD that FBI and SBI agents were both on-scene Tuesday.
The FPD and SBI declined to comment to The Franklin Press on the status of their business with Argent, with the FPD directing the Press to the FBI for more information. The FBI has not yet returned a request for information submitted on Thursday, June 25.
Lapsed credentials
Public records from North Carolina and federal agencies show lapsed advising credentials for Vernon’s businesses.
Argent Accounting’s website (argentaccounting.com) removed details about staff earlier this year, but previous versions of the site accessed through web.archive.org list Vernon’s credentials as a former Certified Management Accountant, a Certified Financial Planner, a Registered Investment Advisor and a Commodity Trading Advisor.
While Vernon’s Capital Advisers LLC was once a Registered Investment Adviser, the business’ accreditation ended in 2019 according to Securities Exchange Commission documents, just under two years after it was registered. Vernon was approved as a Commodity Trading Advisor with the National Futures Association in February 2017 but this status was withdrawn in May 2020. The Press was unable to identify any records of Vernon’s status as a Certified Financial Planner or Certified Management Accountant. Additional public records of Vernon’s history as a financial advisor are sparse.
Argent Capital Advisers LP is registered as a Delaware Limited Partnership, incorporating on March 11, 2022. Jackson said his relationship with Vernon first began on March 22, 2022, after Jackson hired Argent Accounting to handle tax and accounting services for his real estate business. Jackson was then approached about hiring Argent Capital Partners’ investment services on March 31.
Civil suit
On May 29, 2026, Gregory and Angie White filed suit in Jackson County against Argent Accounting, Inc., adding their three businesses (WNC White Corporation, Eastern Mountain Holdings LLC and Mountain East Holdings LLC) as plaintiffs and Argent Insurance Services Inc., Argent Capital Advisers LLC, Argent Capital Trading LLC, Argent Capital Partners, LP, and Vernon as defendants.
Summons were issued to Vernon and his businesses as part of the action.
The Whites allege Vernon of perpetrating a “scheme … to which he conned the Whites into investing nearly $2,000,000 with Argent based on his representations that such monies would be invested and managed by an experienced professional team.”
The suit also alleges Vernon and Argent “lied to the Whites, enticed them to invest heavily and ultimately stole their money either to pay other investors as part of a larger fraudulent scheme or simply to benefit themselves.”
The Whites’ complaint says they met Vernon in December 2023 and began investing in March 2024 with $100,000, later investing an additional $300,000 after seeing “their initial $100,000 had grown substantially.”
The Whites were encouraged to invest more and more funds to “offset” amounts owed to the IRS. They also agreed to set up limited liability companies through Argent (Eastern Mountain and Mountain East Holdings). The Whites had invested $1.9 million by the end of 2025.
The Whites attempted to withdraw $580,000 of their investments to pay a home mortgage on Feb. 2, 2026, and were acknowledged by Argent, which said the money would need to be moved back through the LLCs to get back to the Whites, though the funds were never dispersed. The Whites attempted to follow up twice with Argent before being told Vernon was on leave for a family emergency on Feb. 26. On March 3, they were informed the fund had dried up.
The suit additionally alleges Vernon “was and is not registered with the State of North Carolina, or any other governing body, to sell securities or advise individuals on the purchase or sale of securities” and his encouragement of the Whites to invest should count as fraud in violation of N.C. general statutes.