Updated: August 6, 2026

OPRS may receive compensation when readers open an account through partner links on this page. Our analysis is based on independent research, BBB data, and IRS publications.

Lear Capital LLC still operates a gold IRA business in 2026 out of 1990 S. Bundy Drive, Los Angeles, under founder and CEO Kevin DeMeritt. That is the company an OPRS reader is buying from today. The record around it is where our review starts.

Table of contents show

Our 2026 verdict on Lear Capital

Verdict at a glance

Rating: below our shortlist floor.

Status: active as Lear Capital LLC, still selling gold and silver IRA products.

Key risk: the 2021 New Jersey Bureau of Securities multistate consent order and the 2022 Chapter 11 filing are matters of public record and remain relevant to any retiree evaluating the firm today.

Transparency gap: Lear Capital does not publish IRA setup fees, annual fees, or an account minimum on its public website as of the update date shown at the top of this page.

Where the firm sits vs the market: 3 of 27+ gold IRA dealers reviewed by OPRS make our 2026 trusted list. Lear Capital is not on that list. See our gold IRA dealers to avoid page for the framework we use to shortlist.

Company snapshot: what the public record shows in 2026

The core identifying facts, as published on the company website and public filings:

Legal entity: Lear Capital, LLC (post-2023 emergence from Chapter 11).
Founded: 1997 by Kevin DeMeritt.
Headquarters: 1990 S. Bundy Drive, Los Angeles, California.
Main phone: 800-576-9355.
Storage partner: Delaware Depository Service Company, an IRS-approved depository operating since 1999.
Insurance: Lloyd’s of London underwriters, per the company’s disclosures.
Sales model: commissioned sales representatives (Lear discloses this on its Why Choose page).
Products: gold and silver bullion, coins, and self-directed precious metals IRAs.

Those facts describe the business you would open an account with today. The regulatory record around that same business is where retirees usually pause.

The 2021 multistate consent order: short version

Most retirees searching for a Lear Capital review find headlines about a “CFTC settlement” and stop there. The label is wrong, and the substance still matters.

The 2021 enforcement action was filed on April 8, 2021 by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities. It was coordinated with roughly 30 other state securities regulators. It was not a Commodity Futures Trading Commission case.

The core allegations:

Undisclosed commissions averaging about 33 percent on customer purchases, with certain coin transactions carrying markups above 50 percent, per the New Jersey filing.
Sale of what regulators characterized as unregistered securities and use of unregistered sales agents in New Jersey.
A customer base disproportionately made up of retirement-age investors.
A commitment by Lear Capital to pay approximately $5.5 million in restitution and civil penalties, allocated across participating states.

Lear Capital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2022, and per the firm’s own reputation FAQ, exited reorganization during 2023 as Lear Capital, LLC.

We do not repeat the full breakdown here. Our companion page walks through the consent order text, the 33 percent markup finding, the restitution mechanics, and how retirees ended up in the sales funnel. See Lear Capital CFTC settlement, what the consent order actually says.

Fees, minimums, and what Lear Capital does not publish

As of the update date shown at the top of this page, the Lear Capital public website does not display:

A stated IRA account minimum.
An IRA setup fee.
An annual administration fee schedule.
A storage fee schedule.
A commission rate or a written markup range for its IRA-eligible coin and bullion products.

The company’s Why Choose page does state that its representatives are commissioned salespersons whose pay depends in part on transaction margin. That single sentence is the closest thing to a public commission disclosure the firm offers today.

The $5,000 figure shown on the Lear Capital site is a promotional threshold for bonus coins, not an account minimum. A retiree cannot use it to model total cost of ownership.

For a plain-English framework on what dealers should disclose in writing before a wire, see mandatory disclosures required from gold IRA dealers. To understand how markup math works when spot price is quoted but the invoice number is different, see gold spot price vs IRA markup math.

Storage, buyback, and the parts Lear does document

Lear Capital documents the following operational practices on its own site, and these are the parts a reader can verify without picking up the phone:

Depository: Delaware Depository Service Company. Segregated and non-segregated options are offered on IRA metals per the Lear IRA FAQ.
Insurance: Lloyd’s of London coverage on stored assets, including transit.
Buyback policy: Lear states it will buy back its own products. Its Reputation FAQ notes that buyback bid prices are lower than sell ask prices, which is a normal dealer spread that a customer needs to model into any exit plan.
Cancellation window: the firm publishes a limited cancellation policy on its cancellation and refund page. It is not the same thing as a no-questions-asked return period.

Storage and insurance mechanics at Lear are not what disqualifies it from our shortlist. Delaware Depository is the same infrastructure many trusted dealers use. The disqualifier is the transparency gap on fees, the sales model, and the regulatory record.

BBB record and consumer complaint pattern

The Lear Capital public website advertises “BBB Accredited Business: A+ rating” across multiple pages in 2026. Two points a careful reader should hold in mind:

The rating claim is a self-published statement on Lear’s site. We recommend readers verify the current BBB profile status directly at bbb.org before treating that as fact. BBB grades and government-action notices can change.
An A+ rating and a large volume of closed complaints in the past three years can coexist. BBB grades are formula-based and do not automatically weight state-level enforcement actions the way a retirement investor would.

Historical complaint themes documented in BBB files over the past several years have clustered around three areas. First, pricing disputes on the markup between spot price and invoice. Second, contested commission or fee disclosures. Third, delayed liquidation or shipment on rescission requests.

The pattern is what matters, not any single complaint. It is also the pattern the New Jersey Bureau of Securities investigators leaned on when they built the 2021 case.

The trust signals we score, and how Lear Capital scores against each

The OPRS shortlist is not a beauty contest. Every dealer we consider is scored against six trust signals that a retiree can verify without picking up the phone. Here is how Lear Capital reads on each in 2026.

Written fee schedule on the public site. Lear does not publish one. Prospects have to request it in writing.
Published account minimum. Lear does not publish one either. The $5,000 promo threshold is not a minimum.
Custodian and depository partnerships named on the site. Present. Delaware Depository is named. IRA custodian relationships have historically included Equity Trust and Self Directed IRA Services.
State securities regulatory record. The 2021 New Jersey Bureau of Securities multistate consent order is the material record entry for Lear. It is public and it is unambiguous.
Federal Chapter 11 filing history. Filed March 2022, exited during 2023. The firm self-discloses this on its Reputation FAQ.
Sales approach. Commissioned sales representatives, per Lear’s own Why Choose page. That is a real disclosure and it should shape how a prospect handles inbound calls.

None of these facts is disqualifying on its own. The combination is what fails our shortlist test. Any two of these signals in isolation is manageable. All six together is not.

How to verify what we just said

OPRS readers should never take a review at face value, not from us and not from anyone else. Every claim on this page can be checked at a primary source. That is why the Sources cited section links directly to the official record. Here is the short verification path:

Open the New Jersey Bureau of Securities Lear Capital record page linked in Sources cited. Read the actual consent order language. It is public.
Open bbb.org and search for Lear Capital, Inc. Confirm the current rating, accreditation status, and complaint counts for yourself. Rating claims on any dealer site are self-reported.
Check IRS Publication 590-A and 590-B against any fee or rollover claim a dealer’s sales rep makes. Rollover mechanics are governed by IRS rules, not by the dealer.
Cross-reference the CFTC RED List. Lear Capital is not on the RED List (that list flags unregistered foreign entities, not registered US firms), but the search itself is a useful due diligence habit.

If a dealer’s sales rep pushes back when you ask for the same primary sources in writing, that response is itself information.

Where Lear Capital fits in the 2026 dealer landscape

OPRS reviews the US gold IRA dealer market against a common framework. It looks at written fee schedules, published minimums, custodian and depository partnerships, regulatory record on state and federal dockets, BBB and Business Consumer Alliance history, and sales approach.

Against that framework, 3 of 27+ gold IRA dealers reviewed by OPRS make the 2026 trusted list. Lear Capital does not, primarily on the transparency gap and the enforcement record.

For readers who arrived here from a cold call or a mailer, the following supporting reading is useful before committing any funds:

What most people ask about Lear Capital in 2026

Is Lear Capital still in business in 2026?

Yes. Lear Capital, LLC, operates from 1990 S. Bundy Drive, Los Angeles, and continues to sell gold and silver bullion, coins, and self-directed precious metals IRAs as of the update date shown on this page.

Did Lear Capital file for bankruptcy?

Yes. Lear Capital filed for Chapter 11 in March 2022. Per the firm’s own Reputation FAQ, it exited reorganization during 2023 and continued operations as Lear Capital, LLC.

Was the 2021 case really a CFTC settlement?

No. The 2021 action was filed by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities and coordinated with roughly 30 other state securities regulators. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission was not the named plaintiff.

How much did Lear Capital agree to pay in restitution?

The public consent framework called for approximately $5.5 million in restitution and civil penalties, allocated across participating states. Actual recovery for any individual customer depended on their state and the claim process.

Does Lear Capital publish its IRA fees or minimum?

Not on its public website, as of the update date shown on this page. Retirees who want a fee number before agreeing to a call have to request one in writing.

Where is Lear Capital’s IRA metal actually stored?

At Delaware Depository Service Company, an IRS-approved depository operating since 1999. Lear discloses Lloyd’s of London insurance coverage on stored assets.

What BBB rating does Lear Capital claim?

Lear Capital advertises “BBB Accredited Business: A+ rating” on its own website in 2026. Any prospect should verify the current status directly at bbb.org before treating that as fact.

Where can I read the actual consent order allegations?

Start with our companion breakdown at Lear Capital CFTC settlement, what the consent order actually says. The primary record lives on the New Jersey Bureau of Securities page linked in our Sources cited section.

Did the 2022 bankruptcy affect existing customer accounts?

Per the firm’s own public statements, service continued during and after the reorganization. The Chapter 11 process reshaped Lear Capital’s obligations to creditors and settlement class members. It did not shut down day-to-day operations for retail customers.

Does Lear Capital still send a free gold and silver kit?

Yes, the firm markets a free investor guide and continues to offer bonus coins on qualifying purchases above the promotional threshold. The kit is a marketing lead magnet. It is not a substitute for a written fee schedule.

Should I use my 401(k) or IRA rollover to fund a Lear Capital account?

That is a personal decision that depends on your custodian, your written fee schedule, and your comfort with the record above. Rollover mechanics themselves are governed by IRS rules, not by any single dealer. Start with gold IRA rollover and how to rollover a 401k plan to a gold IRA for the mechanics before shortlisting any dealer.