Securities Lawyers Blog
The investment lawyers of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating claims against Aegis Capital broker, Paul Falcon (Falcon). Falcon allegedly recommended unsuitable investments, executed unauthorized trades, made excessive transactions and recommended investments that performed properly.
According to BrokerCheck records, Falcon has received four customer complaints and one pending customer complaint.
In April 2017, a customer alleged Falcon recommended unsuitable investments, executed unauthorized trades, made excessive transactions and recommended investments that performed poorly. The customer is seeking $190,000 in damages and the complaint is still pending.
In 2001, a customer alleged Falcon failed to follow the customer’s instructions. The complaint settled for $2,000.
In 1999 a customer alleged, while employed at Citicorp Investment Services, Falcon failed to fully explain an investment. The complaint settled for $15,000.
Brokers have a responsibility treat investors fairly which includes obligations such as making only suitable investments for the client. In order to make a suitable recommendation the broker must meet certain requirements. First, there must be reasonable basis for the recommendation the product or security based upon the broker’s investigation and due diligence into the investment’s properties including its benefits, risks, tax consequences, and other relevant factors. Second, the broker then must match the investment as being appropriate for the customer’s specific investment needs and objectives such as the client’s retirement status, long or short term goals, age, disability, income needs, or any other relevant factor.
The number of complaints against Howes are unusual compared to his peers. According to news sources, only about 7.3% of financial advisors have any type of disclosure event on their records among brokers employed from 2005 to 2015. Brokers must publicly disclose reportable events on their CRD customer complaints, IRS tax liens, judgments, investigations, and even criminal matters. However, studies have found that there are fraud hotspots such as certain parts of California, New York or Florida, where the rates of disclosure can reach 18% or higher. Moreover, according to the New York Times, BrokerCheck may be becoming increasingly inaccurate and understate broker misconduct as studies have shown that 96.9% of broker requests to clean their records of complaints are granted.
Falcon has spent 20 years in the securities industry and has been registered with Aegis Capital Corporation in Florida since 2013. Previous registrations include Global Strategic Investments, LLC (09/2011 – 07/2013), Statetrust Investments Inc. (08/2009 – 08/2011), Allstate Financial Services, LLC (04/2008 – 08/2009), Wachovia Securities, LLC (10/2000 – 08/2006), First Union Brokerage Services, Inc. (02/2000 – 10/2000), Citicorp Investment Services (03/1996 – 07/1999), Waterhouse Securities, Inc. (06/1995 – 03/1996), GKN Securities Corp., (06/1994 – 03/1995), Equico Securities, Inc. (03/1994 – 05/1994), and The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States (03/1994 – 05/1994).
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.