According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Michael Giovannelli (Giovannelli), previously associated with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC, has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. Several of those complaints against Giovannelli concern allegations of high frequency trading activity also referred to as churning or excessive trading among other securities laws violations.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $20,609.34 on April 22, 2022.
Giovanelli was named in a customer complaint that asserted the following causes of action: churning for commissions and quantitative unsuitability (Fraud) Rules 2111 and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5; unauthorized transactions (Rule 2010); qualitative and quantitative unsuitability (Rule 2111); failure to supervise and negligent supervision (Rule 3010); control person liability; breach of fiduciary contract and implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; negligent misrepresentation and omissions; standards of commercial honor and principles of trade (Rule 2010).
When brokers engage in excessive trading, sometimes referred to as churning, the broker will typical trade in and out of securities, sometimes even the same stock, many times over a short period of time. Every month, the account often completely “turns over” with different securities. The sole beneficiary of this kind of investment trading activity is the broker, who profits from the commissions generated by these trades, which serve no meaningful purpose for the investor. Securities regulators consider churning to be a distinct form of investment fraud. The fundamental aspects of the claim involve excessive securities transactions, the broker’s undue influence over the account, and an intention to defraud the investor for illegal financial gain. A similar claim, excessive trading, under FINRA’s suitability rule involves just the first two elements. Certain commonly used measures and ratios used to determine churning help evaluate a churning claim. These ratios look at how frequently the account is turned over plus whether or not the expenses incurred in the account made it unreasonable that the investor could reasonably profit from the activity.
According to newsources, a study revealed that 7.3% of financial advisors had a customer complaint on their record when records from 2005 to 2015 were examined. Brokers must publicly disclose reportable events on their BrokerCheck reports that include customer complaints, IRS tax liens, judgments, investigations, terminations, and criminal cases. In addition, research has shown a disturbing pattern with troublesome brokers where brokers with high numbers of customer complaints are not kicked out of the industry but instead these brokers are sifted to lower quality brokerage firms with loose hiring practices and higher rates of customer complaints. These lower quality firms may average brokers with five times as many complaints as the industry average.
Giovannelli has been in the securities industry for more than 14 years. Giovannelli has been registered as a Broker with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC since 2019.
Investors who have suffered losses are encouraged to contact us at (800) 810-4262 for consultation. At Gana Weinstein LLP, our attorneys are experienced representing investors who have suffered securities losses due to the mishandling of their accounts. Claims may be brought in securities arbitration before FINRA. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.