Securities Lawyers Blog
The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims against broker Jeffrey Poosch (Poosch), currently associated with Summit Brokerage Services, Inc. (Summit Brokerage) out of Fort Gratiot, Michigan. According to a BrokerCheck report, Poosch has been subject to at least four customer disputes during the course of his career. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Poosch’s customer complaints concern allegations of unauthorized trading and misrepresentations among other claims.
In February 2018 a customer filed a complaint alleging that Poosch made unauthorized trading and failed to disclose fees associated with a variable annuity. The customer requested over $500,000 in damages. The claim was denied.
In December 2016 a customer alleged that Poosch failed to disclose penalties to them. The amount of damages was not specified. The claim settled for $6,269.
Advisors are not allowed to engage in unauthorized trading. Such trading occurs when a broker sells securities without the prior authority from the investor. All brokers are under an obligation to first discuss trades with the investor before executing them under NYSE Rule 408(a) and FINRA Rules 2510(b). These rules explicitly prohibit brokers from making discretionary trades in a customers’ non-discretionary accounts. The SEC has also found that unauthorized trading to be fraudulent nature because no disclosure could be more important to an investor than to be made aware that a trade will take place.
According to newsources, a study revealed that 7.3% of financial advisors had a customer complaint on their record when records from 2005 to 2015 were examined. Brokers must publicly disclose reportable events on their BrokerCheck reports that include customer complaints, IRS tax liens, judgments, investigations, terminations, and criminal cases. In addition, research has shown a disturbing pattern with troublesome brokers where brokers with high numbers of customer complaints are not kicked out of the industry but instead these brokers are sifted to lower quality brokerage firms with loose hiring practices and higher rates of customer complaints. These lower quality firms may average brokers with five times as many complaints as the industry average.
Poosch entered the securities industry in 1994. From June 2004 to December 2007, Poosch was registered with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Since December 2007 Poosch has been employed by Summit Brokerage out of the firm’s Fort Gratiot, Michigan office location.
Investors who have suffered losses are encouraged to contact us at (800) 810-4262 for consultation. 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.