Securities Lawyers Blog
The investment lawyers of Gana Weinstein 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.
In April 2007, a customer dispute alleging that Trino sold off shore funds without authorization while working at Wachovia Securities, LLC. This case was settled for the amount of $23,000.00.
Trino entered the securities industry in 1996. These are the following firms Trino has been associated with throughout his career:
• First Union Brokerage Services, Inc. (June 1996 – October 2000)
• Wachovia Securities, LLC (October 2000 – November 2008)
• Northeast Securities, Inc. (November 2008 – Present)
Trino also disclosed to FINRA that he is a Life Insurance Agent/Principal at Global Capital Insurance. He works 2 hours per week at Global Capital Insurance during trading hours.
Unauthorized trading occurs when a broker sells securities without the prior authority from the investor. This activity is strictly prohibited and is regulated by FINRA. NYSE Rule 408(a) and FINRA Rules 2510(b) require all brokers to fulfill an inherent obligation by first discussing trades with investors before execution of the trades. These rules explicitly prohibit brokers from making discretionary trades in customers’ non-discretionary accounts. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also found that unauthorized trading to be of fraudulent nature since obtaining permission from the investor to initiate a trade and maintaining disclosure of continuous activities are of utmost importance
Excessive Trading is a similar claim and under FINRA’s suitability rule it involves just the first two elements of the churning claim. When evaluating a churning claim, certain commonly used measures and ratios assist in determining whether churning tactics were used by the broker. 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.
Gana Weinstein LLP’s securities fraud attorneys represent investors who have suffered securities losses due to the mishandling of their accounts due to claims of fraud and negligence. The majority of these claims may be brought in securities arbitration before FINRA. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.