Securities Lawyers Blog
According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Daniel O’neill (O’neill), previously associated with Aegis Capital Corp., has been subject to at least 2 disclosable events. These events include one customer complaint, one regulatory event. Several of those complaints against O’neill 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 July 29, 2021.
O’Neill was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he excessively and unsuitably traded one of his customer’s accounts. The complaint alleges that O’Neill exercised de facto control over the trading in the customer’s account, controlling the volume and frequency of trading, deciding what securities to buy and sell, the quantities, the price, and when each trade would occur. O’Neill also exercised control when he executed unauthorized trades in the customer’s account. The trading in the customer’s account was also excessive when measured against the annualized turnover rate and cost-to-equity ratio. O’Neill’s intentional, active trading caused the customer to incur $140,109 in costs and $147,411 in losses, while generating substantial commissions for O’Neill. O’Neill’s trading generated gross sales credits and commissions of $110,446, of which O’Neill received at least $66,000. O’Neill did not have a reasonable basis to believe that the level of trading he recommended was suitable for the customer. The complaint also alleges that O’Neill effected trades in the customer’s account without first obtaining authorization or consent for the trades from the customer.