Churning (Excessive Trading)

Broker William Brown in Richard James & Associates, INC. Firm Has Customer Complaint

November 29, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker William Brown (Brown), currently associated with Richard James & Associates, INC., has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. Several of those complaints against Brown 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.

Brown 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).

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Michael Petyak in Firm Calton & Associates, INC.

November 29, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Michael Petyak (Petyak), currently associated with Calton & Associates, INC., has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. Several of those complaints against Petyak concern allegations of high frequency trading activity also referred to as churning or excessive trading among other securities laws violations.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint on April 18, 2022.

Statement of Claim alleges an investment recommendation was made for the purpose of generating high commissions and fees and that Claimants were deprived of the ability to generate reasonable returns that would have been received in a diversified portfolio.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker John Williams in Firm Cambridge Investment Research, INC.

November 29, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker John Williams (Williams), previously associated with Cambridge Investment Research, INC., has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. Several of those complaints against Williams concern allegations of high frequency trading activity also referred to as churning or excessive trading among other securities laws violations.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint on April 18, 2022.

Statement of Claim alleges an investment recommendation was made for the purpose of generating high commissions and fees and that Claimants were deprived of the ability to generate reasonable returns that would have been received in a diversified portfolio.

Broker Michael Giovannelli in Spartan Capital Securities, LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

November 28, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

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).

Broker Richard Maas in LPL Financial LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

November 26, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Richard Maas (Maas), currently associated with LPL Financial LLC, has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. Several of those complaints against Maas concern allegations of high frequency trading activity also referred to as churning or excessive trading among other securities laws violations.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint on May 13, 2022.

Statement of claim alleges an investment recommendation was made for the purpose of generating high commissions and fees that Claimants were deprived of the ability to generate reasonable returns that would have been received in a diversified portfolio.

Broker Clifton Higgs in Securities Management & Research, INC. Firm Has Customer Complaint

November 25, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Clifton Higgs (Higgs), currently associated with Securities Management & Research, INC., has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. Several of those complaints against Higgs concern allegations of high frequency trading activity also referred to as churning or excessive trading among other securities laws violations.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint on May 13, 2022.

Statement of Claim alleges an investment recommendation was made for the purpose of generating high commissions and fees and that the Claimants were deprived of the ability to generate reasonable returns that would have been received in a diversified portfolio.

Broker Brian Clark in LPL Financial LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

November 24, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Brian Clark (Clark), currently associated with LPL Financial LLC, has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. Several of those complaints against Clark concern allegations of high frequency trading activity also referred to as churning or excessive trading among other securities laws violations.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint with a damage request of $815,157.00 on May 25, 2022.

Alleged excessive trading and inappropriate investments between 2008 and 2021.

Broker Clifford Reid in Reid & Rudiger LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

November 20, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Clifford Reid (Reid), currently associated with Reid & Rudiger LLC, has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. Several of those complaints against Reid 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 on October 02, 2025.

Breach of fiduciary, negligence, and excessive trading.

Broker Brian Clark in LPL Financial LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

November 18, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Brian Clark (Clark), currently associated with LPL Financial LLC, has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. Several of those complaints against Clark concern allegations of high frequency trading activity also referred to as churning or excessive trading among other securities laws violations.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint with a damage request of $815,157.00 on May 25, 2022.

Alleged excessive trading and inappropriate investments between 2008 and 2021.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Palmery Desir in Firm Richfield Orion International, INC.

November 17, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Palmery Desir (Desir), previously associated with Richfield Orion International, INC., has been subject to at least 3 disclosable events. These events include one customer complaint, 2 regulatory events. Several of those complaints against Desir concern allegations of high frequency trading activity also referred to as churning or excessive trading among other securities laws violations.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on May 27, 2022.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Desir consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he excessively and unsuitably traded one customer’s account. The findings stated that the customer’s account had an average equity of approximately $700,000, and Desir recommended that the customer place trades in his account with a total principal value of $3,860,000. The customer relied on Desir’s advice and accepted his recommendations. Collectively, Desir’s recommended trades caused the customer to pay over $134,900 in commissions and other trading costs, which resulted in an annualized cost-to-equity ratio of 20 percent – meaning that the customer’s account would have had to grow by more than 20 percent annually just to break even.