Articles Posted in Churning (Excessive Trading)

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shutterstock_184149845-300x246Broker David Sheppard (Sheppard) was recently sanctioned by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in an enforcement action that led to a permanent bar against the broker.  According to BrokerCheck, FINRA found that Sheppard consented to sanctions that he refused to appear for on-the-record testimony requested by FINRA to investigate potential churning (excessive trading) in customer accounts.

The securities lawyers of Gana LLP are also investigating customer complaints against Sheppard.  There have been at least three customer complaints against Sheppard, one regulatory action, and two judgements or liens in Sheppard’s 21 year career.  The customer complaints against Sheppard allege a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unauthorized trading, and breach of fiduciary duty among other claims.

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.  Often times the account will completely “turnover” every month with different securities.  This type of investment trading activity in the client’s account serves no reasonable purpose for the investor and is engaged in only to profit the broker through the generation of commissions created by the trades.

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shutterstock_115937266-300x237The securities fraud lawyers of Gana LLP are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) against broker Thomas Sullivan (Sullivan).  According to BrokerCheck records Sullivan has been the subject of at least six customer complaints and two terminations for cause.  The customer complaints against Sullivan allege a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments and churning (excessive trading) among other claims.

In May 2010 Sullivan was discharged by Hallmark Investments on allegation that Sullivan stole revenue from the brokerage firm.  The most recent customer complaint was filed in November 2016 alleging $23,616 in damages stemming from excessive trading and churning.  The claim was settled

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shutterstock_185582-300x225The investment lawyers of Gana LLP are investigating a pending customer complaint filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against Silvano Rolando Trino (Trino). According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck record for Trino, there are at least 4 disclosures on Trino’s records, all pertaining to customer complaints. The customer complaints against Trino allege unauthorized use of margin, unsuitable trading, and churning.

All brokers who are registered with FINRA are required to disclosure customer complaints and arbitrations, regulatory actions, employment terminations, bankruptcy filings, and criminal or civil judicial proceedings.

The most recent customer complaint against Trino was filed with FINRA in September 2014 alleging unauthorized use of margin, unsuitable trades, and churning. This claim occurred during Trino’s current employment at Northeast Securities, Inc.

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shutterstock_157506896-300x300Our securities fraud attorneys are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against Mark Gassoso (Gassoso) currently associated with National Securities Corporation alleging Gassoso engaged in a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments, unauthorized trading, and churning (excessive trading) among other claims.

The most recent complaint was filed in October 2016 alleging unsuitable investments, breach of fiduciary duty, and misrepresentations causing $150,000 in damages.  The complaint is currently pending.  In September 2013 another investor filed a complaint and alleged excessive trading.  The complaint was denied.

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shutterstock_177577832-300x300According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) customers have filed complaints against broker Mark Miranda (Miranda).  Our attorneys have been reviewing records that Miranda has been the subject of at least seven customer complaints, one bankruptcy filing, and one tax lien in September 2012 for $39,000.  The customer complaints against Miranda allege a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments, unauthorized trading and churning (excessive trading) among other claims.

The most recent complaint was filed in September 2016 and unsuitable investments causing $49,797.17 in damages.  The complaint is currently pending.  In April 2016 another investor filed a complaint and alleged excessive fees causing $47,620 in damages.  The complaint is currently pending.

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.  Often times the account will completely “turnover” every month with different securities.  This type of investment trading activity in the client’s account serves no reasonable purpose for the investor and is engaged in only to profit the broker through the generation of commissions created by the trades.  Churning is considered a species of securities fraud.  The elements of the claim are excessive transactions of securities, broker control over the account, and intent to defraud the investor by obtaining unlawful commissions.  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.

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shutterstock_170709014Our investment attorneys are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against financial advisor Guy Deemer (Deemer) currently registered with IFS Securities, alleging excessive trading or churning and unauthorized trading among other claims.  According to brokercheck records Deemer has been subject to six customer complaints, two regulatory actions, and one employment termination for cause.

In September 2015 Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (Oppenheimer) terminated Deemer after alleging that he failed to follow management’s directions when he failed to move accounts from transaction based to fee based.

In July 2014 a customer filed a complaint alleging excessive trading activity from July 2009 through December 2013.  The customer alleged $300,000 in damages.  The claim was settled for $115,000.

The type of claims being made against Deemer are often associated with claims of excessive trading or churning.  When brokers engage in excessive trading the broker will typically trade in and out of securities, sometimes even the same stock, many times over a short period of time.  Often times the account will completely “turnover” every month with different securities.  Many brokers who engage in churning will not take the time to explain to the investor the exact reasons for the transactions and will provide vague and general responses to requests for information such as this is the strategy we are pursuing.

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shutterstock_20354401Our investment attorneys are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against Matthew Fleissner (Fleissner) currently associated with National Securities Corporation (National Securities) alleging unauthorized trading and excessive fees and commissions among other claims.  According to brokercheck records Fleissner has been subject to two customer complaints and one criminal matter.

The type of claims being made against Fleissner are often associated with claims of excessive trading or churning.  When brokers engage in excessive trading the broker will typically trade in and out of securities, sometimes even the same stock, many times over a short period of time.  Often times the account will completely “turnover” every month with different securities.  Many brokers who engage in churning will not take the time to explain to the investor the exact reasons for the transactions and will provide vague and general responses to requests for information such as this is the strategy we are pursuing.

Churning investment trading activity in a client’s account serves no reasonable purpose for the investor and is engaged in only to profit the broker through the generation of commissions.  Churning is considered a type of securities fraud.  The elements of the claim are excessive transactions of securities, broker control over the account, and intent to defraud the investor by obtaining unlawful commissions.  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.

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shutterstock_103681238The securities fraud lawyers of Gana LLP are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) against broker Marc Kalter (Kalter).  According to BrokerCheck records Kalter has been the subject of at least six customer complaints and two regulatory actions.  The customer complaints against Kalter allege a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments, unauthorized trading, breach of fiduciary duty, and churning (excessive trading) among other claims.

The most recent complaint was filed in July 2016 and alleged breach of fiduciary duty and unsuitable investments causing $76,043 in damages.  The complaint is currently pending.  Also in March 2016 another investor filed a similar complaint and alleged breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, fraud, and churning causing $182,000 in damages.  The complaint is currently pending.

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.  Often times the account will completely “turnover” every month with different securities.  This type of investment trading activity in the client’s account serves no reasonable purpose for the investor and is engaged in only to profit the broker through the generation of commissions created by the trades.  Churning is considered a species of securities fraud.  The elements of the claim are excessive transactions of securities, broker control over the account, and intent to defraud the investor by obtaining unlawful commissions.  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.

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shutterstock_183549914The securities fraud lawyers of Gana LLP are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) against broker Steven Shmulewitz (Shmulewitz).  According to BrokerCheck records Shmulewitz has been the subject of at least nine customer complaints.  The customer complaints against Shmulewitz allege a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments, unauthorized trading, and churning (excessive trading) among other claims.

The most recent complaint was filed in May 2016 and alleged unauthorized use of margin in the customer’s account from 2011 through March 2014 causing $250,000.  Thee complaint settled for $52,800.  In May 2015, another customer alleged excessive commissions, mishandling of the account and misrepresentations leading to $21,000 in damages.  The complaint settled for $20,000.

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.  Often times the account will completely “turnover” every month with different securities.  This type of investment trading activity in the client’s account serves no reasonable purpose for the investor and is engaged in only to profit the broker through the generation of commissions created by the trades.  Churning is considered a species of securities fraud.  The elements of the claim are excessive transactions of securities, broker control over the account, and intent to defraud the investor by obtaining unlawful commissions.  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.

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shutterstock_184430498The securities fraud lawyers of Gana LLP are investigating customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) against broker Sean McCabe (McCabe).  According to BrokerCheck records McCabe has been the subject of at least four customer complaints.  The customer complaints against McCabe allege a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments, unauthorized trading, and churning (excessive trading) among other claims.

The most recent complaint was filed in March 2016 and alleged breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, misrepresentation, and negligence causing $550,000 in damages.  The complaint is currently pending.  Also in March 2016 another investor filed a similar complaint and alleged breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, misrepresentation, and negligence causing $150,000 in damages.  The complaint is currently pending

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.  Often times the account will completely “turnover” every month with different securities.  This type of investment trading activity in the client’s account serves no reasonable purpose for the investor and is engaged in only to profit the broker through the generation of commissions created by the trades.  Churning is considered a species of securities fraud.  The elements of the claim are excessive transactions of securities, broker control over the account, and intent to defraud the investor by obtaining unlawful commissions.  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.

Continue Reading