Woman blames financial planners for buying house she couldn't afford

An accounting firm is facing accusations it gave a client bad financial advice that led her to buy a home she couldn't afford.

Carla Anderson filed suit June 13 in Cook County Circuit Court against Becky Hannan and Roger Hannan, doing business as Hannan & Associates.

According to the complaint, Anderson was a client of the defendants' accounting firm for retirement planning services and the purchase of a new home until last year. She claims the defendants gave incorrect financial advice regarding her Social Security eligibility, which resulted in her purchasing a home in 2012 that she couldn't afford.

Anderson alleges the defendants also gave other incorrect pieces of financial advice, including setting up the wrong kind of education fund for her grandchild, opening accounts she wasn't eligible for and mishandling tax paperwork for her 2012 tax return.

The suit accuses the defendants professional negligence, negligent misrepresentation and violating the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act.

Anderson is seeking compensatory damages in excess of $50,000, punitive damages, costs and attorney fees. She is represented by Chicago attorney Robert J. Slobig of Torshen, Slobig, Genden, Dragutinovich & Axel Ltd.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2014L006353.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at Cook County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt and it only represents one side of the story.