SPARTAN CAPITAL SECURITIES

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Kostas Tsamos in Firm Spartan Capital Securities, LLC

March 13, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Kostas Tsamos (Tsamos), previously associated with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC, has at least 2 disclosable events. These events include 2 regulatory, alleging that Tsamos recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on October 08, 2024.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Tsamos consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he willfully violated the Best Interest Obligation under Rule 15l-1(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Reg BI) by recommending a series of trades in customers’ accounts, four of whom were senior customers, that was excessive, unsuitable, and not in the customers’ best interests. The findings stated that Tsamos’ customers relied on his advice and routinely followed his recommendations and, as a result, he exercised de facto control over the customers’ accounts. Tsamos’s trading in the customer accounts resulted in total trading costs of $958,948, including $849,576 in commissions, and caused over $1.03 million in total realized losses.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker John Lowry in Firm Spartan Capital Securities, LLC

February 27, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker John Lowry (Lowry), currently associated with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC, has at least 3 disclosable events. These events include 2 customer complaints, one regulatory, alleging that Lowry recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint on November 08, 2024.

Lowry was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that while acting as his member firm’s CEO, he failed to timely provide information and documents requested by FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rule 8210 until after FINRA issued two follow-up requests and initiated two expedited proceedings to compel compliance. The complaint alleges that the firm’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) failed to timely respond to five requests made pursuant to Rule 8210 until after FINRA issued six follow-up requests and initiated five expedited proceedings to compel compliance. FINRA initially began investigating the firm’s sales of membership interests in unregistered private funds, an OBA of Lowry and the CAO. FINRA’s requests sought information and documents about the private funds and later sought information and documents relating to the firm’s net capital calculations. FINRA was required to exert a significant amount of regulatory pressure to obtain the information and documents that were important to its ongoing investigation into the firm’s and its registered representatives’ dealings with the private funds. The complaint also alleges that Lowry failed to maintain a reasonable system for the firm’s compliance with Rule 8210 and failed to supervise the CAO’s responses to Rule 8210 requests. After delegating his responsibility for supervising the firm’s compliance with Rule 8210 and his responsibility for some of FINRA’s requests to the CAO, Lowry did not review his delegations of authority to ensure that they were being properly exercised. Lowry failed to intervene and take corrective measures as necessary after learning of red flags suggesting that the CAO was not carrying out her delegated authorities.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Kim Monchik in Firm Spartan Capital Securities, LLC

February 27, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Kim Monchik (Monchik), currently associated with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC, has at least 2 disclosable events. These events include one customer complaint, one regulatory, alleging that Monchik recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint on November 08, 2024.

Monchik was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that, while acting as her member firm’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), she failed to timely respond to five requests made pursuant to Rule 8210 until after FINRA issued six follow-up requests and initiated five expedited proceedings to compel compliance. The complaint alleges that FINRA initially began investigating the firm’s sales of membership interests in unregistered private funds, an OBA of Monchik and the firm’s CEO. FINRA’s requests sought information and documents about the private funds and later sought information and documents relating to the firm’s net capital calculations. FINRA was required to exert a significant amount of regulatory pressure to obtain the information and documents that were important to its ongoing investigation into the firm’s and its registered representatives’ dealings with the private funds.

Broker Ahmad Maklouf in Spartan Capital Securities, LLC Firm Has Customer Complaint

February 25, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Ahmad Maklouf (Maklouf), previously associated with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC, has at least 2 disclosable events. These events include one customer complaint, one refulatory, alleging that Maklouf recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on November 19, 2024.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Maklouf consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he refused to produce information and documents requested by FINRA in connection with an investigation into his OBAs, including his potential involvement in an outside investment vehicle, while associated with his member firm.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Kyle Manning in Firm Spartan Capital Securities, LLC

February 17, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Kyle Manning (Manning), previously associated with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC, has at least 2 disclosable events. These events include 2 regulatory, alleging that Manning recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on January 06, 2025.

Respondent Manning failed to comply with an arbitration award or settlement agreement or to satisfactorily respond to a FINRA request to provide information concerning the status of compliance.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker James Pecoraro in Firm Spartan Capital Securities, LLC

February 17, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker James Pecoraro (Pecoraro), currently associated with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Pecoraro recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $500,000.00 on January 02, 2025.

Negligence, Misrepresentation, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Deception, Exploitation, Negligent Supervisor

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Justin Deiter in Firm Spartan Capital Securities, LLC

February 12, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Justin Deiter (Deiter), previously associated with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC, has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one tax lien. Several of those complaints against Deiter 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 February 06, 2025.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Deiter consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he willfully violated Reg BI by recommending to two retail customers a series of trades that were excessive and not in the best interest of the customers, one of whom was an 89-year-old retiree. The findings stated that Deiter’s trading resulted in high turnover rates and cost-to-equity ratios that exceeded the traditional guideposts of six and 20 percent. Deiter’s recommended transactions in the first customer’s account generated $19,792 in commissions and caused $25,291 in realized losses. The trading in the elderly customer’s account generated $28,264 in commissions and caused $33,363 in realized losses.

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Thomas Tedeschi in Firm Spartan Capital Securities, LLC

February 7, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Thomas Tedeschi (Tedeschi), previously associated with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one tax lien, alleging that Tedeschi recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on May 18, 2023.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Tedeschi consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he failed to amend his Form U4 to disclose that he had been charged with two felonies. The findings stated that Tedeschi was arrested and charged in Nassau County, New York with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, both Class B felonies. Tedeschi ultimately pled guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance. Tedeschi was aware that he had been charged with two felonies and he discussed the charges with supervisors at his member firm. However, Tedeschi did not timely amend his Form U4 to disclose the charges, as he was required to do. Indeed, Tedeschi never disclosed the felony charges on his Form U4 prior to his resignation from the firm.