Articles Posted in Churning

Nicholas James Schiano (CRD# 4429212) a financial broker with 24 years of experience, was suspended from the securities industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) following allegations of excessive trading for two senior clients. Schiano had been associated with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC in New York City for the past…

Joseph Jemel Steward (CRD# 3241331) a financial broker with 20 years of experience, has been suspended from the securities industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The suspension followed allegations that he engaged in excessive and unsuitable trading that was not in the best interest of his customer. Steward most…

Stewart Ginn (a/k/a Stewart Taylor or Paxton Ginn Jr.), who is the owner of Paxton Financial Services, has been a broker Independent Financial Group, LLC since 2015. In 2023 Ginn was suspended by FINRA after FINRA found that Ginn “excessively traded five customers’ accounts” even though “[n]one of the five…

San Diego, CA-based Independent Financial Group, LLC has been fined and censured by the SEC after the firm failed to establish and follow a supervisory system for supervising the firm’s brokers when handling customer accounts. This failure occurred between July 2020 and December 2022 and included noncompliance with Registration Best…

The Rosenau Family Research Foundation, a nonprofit that funds medical research, has alleged that Principal Securities engaged in misuse of variable annuities, as well as churning and selling away while handling the Foundation’s investments. In an interview with Investment News, Silver Law Group’s managing partner Scott Silver stated, “There’s a…

Minnesota-based broker-dealer Principal Securities has been sued by a local nonprofit over allegations of churning in variable annuities by one of its former registered representatives. The company disclosed this information in its recently filed annual focus report with the SEC. Principal Securities is also the subject of a separate FINRA…

Stewart Ginn (CRD# 4503197, aka “Stewart Taylor,” “Paxton Ginn Jr”) is a registered broker currently employed with Independent Financial Group, LLC (CRD# 7717) of Santa Maria, CA. His previous employers include Navian Capital Securities LLC (CRD#:145037) of Cincinnati, OH, Newbridge Securities Corporation (CRD# 104065) of New York, NY, and Chicago…

Most investors believe that their brokers will trade on their behalf with their best interests in mind. In fact, they’re required to in accordance with Regulation Best Interest, or Reg BI. In a nutshell, brokers must always use the investor’s best interest as their benchmark before making any recommendation. This…

Christopher Polinaire (Christopher Edward Polinaire CRD# 4330879) is a previously-registered broker whose last employer was Network 1 Financial Securities Inc. (CRD#:13577) of Hauppage, NY. His prior employers include Arive Capital Markets (CRD#:8060) of Ronkonkoma, NY, First Standard Financial Company, LLC (CRD#:168340) of Garden City, NY, and Rockwell Global Capital LLC…

Efthimios George Petrou (CRD# 2672840) is a registered broker last employed with Arive Capital Markets (CRD#:8060) of Ronkonkoma, NY. He was also employed by J.P. Turner & Company, L.L.C. (CRD#:43177) of Middle Island, NY, Investec Ernst & Company (CRD#:266) of New York, NY, and Royce Investment Group, Inc. (CRD#:10494) of…