Churning (Excessive Trading)

Gana LLP Investigation: Legend Securities Broker Peter Girgis

July 27, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Peter Girgis (Girgis) has been the subject of at least three customer complaints, several unreported judgement or liens, one employment separation following allegations by his brokerage firm, and two regulatory actions taken by FINRA. Customers have filed complaints against Girgis alleging a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments, fraud, churning (excessive trading), breach of fiduciary duty, and unauthorized trading among other claims.

Bergen entered the securities industry in 2002. From August 2006 until November 2009, Girgis was registered with J.P. Turner & Company, L.L.C. (JP Turner). From there, Girgis was associated with Brookstone Securities, Inc. until June 2012. Thereafter, Girgis was a registered representative of Joseph Gunnar & Co. LLC from June 2012 until June 2013. Finally, Girgis is currently registered with Legend Securities, Inc.

In one of the FINRA actions, FINRA alleged that, while registered through Joseph Gunnar, Girgis caused a violation of Regulation S-P of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on the part of his employer firm by sending nonpublic personal information about a customer to an unauthorized individual. In the second FINRA action, the regulator alleged that between February 2011 and January 2013, Girgis failed to disclose and/or timely disclose on his Form U4 four unsatisfied judgments and/or liens including a January 2011 New York income tax warrant of approximately $4,488; a January 2011 New York income tax warrant of approximately $13,418; a November 2011 New York income tax wan-ant of approximately $2,524; and a March 2011 federal income tax warrant of approximately $30,635. Subsequent to these allegations Joseph Gunnar terminated Girgis alleging that the broker violated the conditions of the FINRA action.

Broker Spotlight: Nigel James Churning Claims

July 21, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Nigel James (James) has been the subject of at least five customer complaints and one financial matter. Customers have filed complaints against James alleging a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments, misrepresentations and false statements, churning (excessive trading), breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, unauthorized trading, among other claims. Most of these claims involve recommendations in equities.

James entered the securities industry in 2002. From October 2005 until October 2008, James was registered with J.P. Turner & Company, L.L.C. From there, James as associated with First Midwest Securities, Inc. until February 2013.

All advisers have a fundamental responsibility to deal fairly with investors including making suitable investment recommendations. In order to make suitable recommendations the broker must have a reasonable basis for recommending the product or security based upon the broker’s investigation of the investments properties including its benefits, risks, tax consequences, and other relevant factors. In addition, the broker must also understand the customer’s specific investment objectives to determine whether or not the specific product or security being recommended is appropriate for the customer based upon their needs.

LPL Financial Broker David Hackney Accused by Regulator of Churning Customer Accounts

June 22, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker David Hackney (Hackney) has recently been permanently barred by the agency for failing to respond to requests for documents and information. In addition, the broker has been under investigation by the Illinois Securities Department concerning allegations that Hackney churned – a type of securities fraud – at least three accounts.

Hackney entered the securities industry in 1993. From March 2006 until February 2014, Hackney was associated with LPL Financial LLC (LPL). In February 2014, LPL discharged Hackney alleging that the broker conducted discretionary, otherwise known as unauthorized trades, in customers’ accounts that were excessive.

Investment churning is trading activity characterized by the purchasing and selling of securities including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and options that is excessive and serves no practical purpose for the investor. Brokers engage in churning solely to generate commissions without regard for the client’s interests. In order to establish a churning claim the investor must show that the trading was first excessive and second that the broker had control over the investment strategy. 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.

Morgan Stanley and Broker Ami Forte Subject to $400 Million Investor Complaint

June 8, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

According to InvestmentNews, the widow of Roy M. Speer, co-founder of the Home Shopping Network, has filed a complaint with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against Morgan Stanley Wealth Management along with an adviser Ami Forte (Forte) and branch manager Terry McCoy (McCoy) for $400 million. Morgan Stanley acknowledged the arbitration claim in a disclosure in the brokerage’s publicly filed annual financial report but only indicated the amount in controversy was for more than $170 million.

Mr. Speer’s widow is claiming that Morgan Stanley and their adviser engaged in excessive trading – also referred to as churning, unauthorized use of discretion, and abused their fiduciary duty. According to the complaint, Mr. Speer suffered from diminished capacity during the last five years of his life. During this time his adviser and others at the firm made approximately 12,000 unauthorized trades generating an eye popping $40 million in commissions.

Unfortunately, cases such as these are becoming increasingly common. Our firm has handled a number of cases where a wealthy investor has been taken advantage of due to diminished capacity. In other cases a spouse who inherits or assumes management over an affluent estate has very little financial experience and places their trust in their brokerage firm and financial advisor only to be charged millions in fees and high commission products. Often times these financial strategies are completely unreasonable and unjustifiable. Wealthy investors often have financial needs that do not exceed even a tiny fraction of their overall net worth. Yet, there have been cases where brokers place sizable portions of their client’s massive estates at jeopardy in order to generate millions in fees while providing absolutely no benefit for their client.

Broker Complaint Investigation: David Persaud’s Sales Practices

June 6, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker David Persaud (Persaud) a/k/a Dwarka Persaud has been the subject of at least 5 customer complaints and one regulatory action over the course of his career. Customers have filed complaints against Persaud alleging a litany of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments, unauthorized trades, breach of fiduciary duty, and churning among other claims. Two of these customer complaints were filed recently.

An examination of Persaud’s employment history reveals that Persaud moves from troubled firm to troubled firm. The pattern of brokers moving in this way is sometimes called “cockroaching” within the industry. See More Than 5,000 Stockbrokers From Expelled Firms Still Selling Securities, The Wall Street Journal, (Oct. 4, 2013). In Persaud’s 28 year career he has worked at 21 different firms.

Since 2008 Persaud has been registered with The Concord Equity Group, LLC, Andrew Garrett Inc., Garden State Securities, Inc., and since May 2015, Buckman, Buckman & Reid, Inc.

Prospera Financial’s Douglas Dannhardt Suspended Over Excessive Trading Claims

May 7, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined and suspended broker Douglas Dannhardt (Dannhardt) concerning allegations that between January 2010, and December 2011 Dannhardt engaged in several different violations of the industry’s rules including: 1( excessive and unsuitable trading in three IRA accounts (also known as churning); 2) improperly exercising discretion in these three accounts by executing transactions days and weeks after obtaining customer approval; 3) accepting trade orders for a customer’s account from a third party without written authorization.

Dannhardt became associated with a FINRA firm in 1984. From March 1995 through December 2013, Dannhardt was employed by Prospera Financial Services. Inc, (Prospera). The firm filed a Form U5 for Dannhardt as a result of his voluntary resignation from the firm.

Under the FINRA rules excessive trading occurs when: (1) a broker exercises control over a customer’s account: and (2) the amount of trading activity in that account is inconsistent with the customer’s investment objectives, financial situation, and needs. This conduct violates FINRA’s suitability standards. When making such a determination FINRA looks to see if the trading in an account can becomes so quantitatively unsuitable by unreasonably raising the costs associated with the investment strategy to the point where the additional risk in order to generate the return is not offset by those costs.

Broker Investigation: Brian Decker Churning Claims

May 5, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Brian Decker (Decker) has been the subject of at least 10 customer complaints and 2 judgments and liens over the course of his career. Customers have filed complaints against Decker alleging a litany of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments, unauthorized trades, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentations and false statements, and churning, among other claims. The claims involve different investment recommendations including claims involving equity securities among other speculative securities.

Decker entered the securities industry in 2006 with brokerage firm J.P. Turner & Company, L.L.C. Thereafter, in January 2007 through June 2009, Decker was associated with brokerage firm vFinance Investments, Inc. Finally since September 2009, Decker has been registered with Legend Securities, Inc. in Trinton Falls, New Jersey.

All advisers have a fundamental responsibility to deal fairly with investors including making suitable investment recommendations. When brokers engage in churning the investment trading activity in the client’s account serves no reasonable purpose for the investor and is transacted to profit the broker through the generation of commission payments. The elements to establish a churning claim, which is considered a species of securities fraud, 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.

Broker Investigation: Gregory Dean Churning Claims

April 29, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Gregory Dean (Dean) has been the subject of at least 4 customer complaints over the course of his career. Customers have filed complaints against Dean in recent years alleging that the broker made unsuitable investments and churned their accounts. Other claims concerning Dean’s handling of customer accounts include allegations of failing to execute trades.

Dean has been registered with FINRA since 2005. From January 2007 until November 2011, Dean was registered with J.D. Nicholas & Associates, Inc. Currently, Dean is associated with Worden Capital Management LLC.

All advisers have a fundamental responsibility to deal fairly with investors including making suitable investment recommendations. When brokers engage in churning the investment trading activity in the client’s account serves no reasonable purpose for the investor and is transacted to profit the broker through the generation of commission payments. The elements to establish a churning claim, which is considered a species of securities fraud, 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.

Broker Investigation: Thomas Tedeschi’s Sales Practices

April 14, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Thomas Tedeschi (Tedeschi) has been the subject of at least 6 customer complaints, one judgment and lien over the course of his career. Customers have filed complaints against Tedeschi alleging a litany of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments, unauthorized trades, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentations and false statements, and churning, among other claims. The claims involve different investment recommendations including claims involving warrants, penny stocks, and Exchange Traded Notes, among other speculative securities.

An examination of Tedeschi’s employment history reveals that Tedeschi moves from troubled firm to troubled firm. The pattern of brokers moving in this way is sometimes called “cockroaching” within the industry. See More Than 5,000 Stockbrokers From Expelled Firms Still Selling Securities, The Wall Street Journal, (Oct. 4, 2013). In Tedeschi’s 20 year career he has worked at 17 different firms.

Since 2008 alone Tedeschi has been registered with Westrock Advisors, Inc., Obsidian Financial Group, LLC, John Thomas Financial, Prestige Financial Center, Inc., Blackbook Capital LLC, and Aegis Capital Corp.

FINRA Sanctions Financial Advisor Tory Duggins Over Unauthorized Discretionary Trading

February 19, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently sanctioned broker Tory Duggins (Duggins) concerning allegations that between November 2011 through May 2012, Duggins exercised discretionary power in two customer accounts by making 17 transactions without obtaining prior written authorization from the customers. Under NASD Conduct Rule 2510(b) Duggins was required to provide written authorization to his firm in order to engage in discretionary trading activity. In addition, FINRA alleged that Duggins made false statements on a member firm semi-annual compliance questionnaire concerning his exercise of time and price discretion in customer accounts.

Duggins entered the securities industry in July 2002. Since that time Duggins has been associated with a total of nine different brokerage firms. Most recently from October 2008 through December 2012 Duggins was associated with vFinance Investments, Inc. (vFinane). Thereafter, Duggins was associated with National Securities Corporation (National Securities) until January 2014. Currently, Duggins is associated with Avenir Financial Group.

In addition to FINRA’s claims, Duggins public disclosures reveal that Duggins has been subject to multiple tax liens totaling over $300,000. Often times such extensive debts influence brokers to engage in excessive trading and churning in order to generate commissions to pay down personal debts. Often times, authorized trading goes hand and hand with churning. In Duggins’ case, three customers have brought complaints against the broker alleging excessive trading designed to generate commissions for the broker.