Securities Lawyers Blog
The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that advisor Pratul Victor Agnihotri (Agnihotri) is under investigation for conversion of customer funds among other allegations. According to BrokerCheck records, Agnihotri is currently registered with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm SW Financial. In addition, Agnihotri disclosed three customer complaints and one civil judgment. If you have been a victim of Agnihotri’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.
In October 2019 FINRA initiated an investigation concerning Agnihotri conduct related to FINRA’s preliminary determination to recommend that disciplinary action be brought against Agnihotri for potential violations including conversion of investor funds, engaging in an outside business activity without providing prior written notice to his FINRA member employer firms.
In October 2019 a customer complained that Agnihotri violated the securities laws by alleging that Agnihotri engaged in sales practice violations related to unauthorized trading, selling away, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligence. The claim alleges $650,000 in damages and is currently pending.
Our law firm has significant experience bringing cases on behalf of defrauded victims when their advisors engage in receiving loans from clients or selling securities sales through OBAs. The sale of unapproved investment products – is a practice known in the industry as “selling away” – a serious violation of the securities laws. In the industry the term selling away refers to when a financial advisor solicits investments in companies, promissory notes, or other securities that are not pre-approved by the broker’s affiliated firm. Sometimes those investments have some legitimacy but often times these types of investments can end up being Ponzi schemes or the advisor can be engaging in the conversion of funds.