Securities Lawyers Blog
The investment lawyers at Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating the regulatory action brought by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against Luigi Mancusi (Mancusi).
According to BrokerCheck records, Mancusi allegedly “exercised discretion in effecting 45 transactions in a customer’s accounts without prior written authorization from the customer to exercise discretion in these accounts and without the accounts having been approved for discretionary trading by his member firm.” Further, Mancusi allegedly executed three transactions in another customer’s account without prior authorization. Reportedly, “Mancusi sold the security and used the proceeds to purchase two other securities in the customer’s account to replace it. As a result, the customer incurred fees, commissions, and ultimately a loss in disposing of an unwanted purchase into a new position, totaling $2,966.97.” Mancusi has been suspended from the securities industry for two months and has been fined $10,000.
Mancusi has also received five customer complaints.
In November 2017, a customer alleged Mancusi placed the customer in unsuitable investments for their age and risk tolerance and they were placed in unauthorized investments. This dispute is currently pending.
In July 2015, a customer alleged unauthorized transactions took place in the customer’s accounts. This dispute settled for $60,000.
In July 2013, multiple customers alleged unsuitability, breach of fiduciary duty, negligent misrepresentation and failure to supervise. This dispute settled for $50,000.
In October 2009, a customer alleged Mancusi misrepresented material facts related to an unsuitable investment as well as unauthorized investments. This dispute settled for $80,000.
In September 2002, a customer alleged she instructed to Mancusi to purchase a fixed annuity and she was sold a variable annuity after Mancusi did not follow her instructions. This dispute settled for $30,000.
When brokers engage in excessive trading, sometimes referred to as churning, the broker will typical trade in and out of securities, sometimes even the same stock, many times over a short period of time. Often times the account will completely “turnover” every month with different securities. This type of investment trading activity in the client’s account serves no reasonable purpose for the investor and is engaged in only to profit the broker through the generation of commissions created by the trades. Churning is considered a species of securities fraud. The elements of the claim 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. 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.
Mancusi has 25 years of experience and is currently registered with David A. Noyes & Company. Previous registrations include Oppenheimer & Co., Wayne Hummer Investments LLC, Vision Investment Services Inc., Northern Trust Securities Inc., Invest Financial Corporation, Charter One Securities Inc., Investment Network Inc., Forth Financial Securities Corporation, Marketing One Securities Inc., and Investment Network Inc.
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.