Securities Arbitration Lawyers BlogFlorida Broker Peter Gouzos Banned by FINRA
His most recent employing firm was expelled by FINRA in October
After 22 years in the securities industry, FINRA permanently barred Peter Gouzos in February from acting as a broker or selling securities to the public. The final straw in a career full of customer dispute disclosures was his alleged failure to respond to FINRA requests for information, according to FINRA reports.
Gouzos most recently worked for Hunter Scott Financial in Delray Beach, Florida, which FINRA expelled in October. Before that, he worked for Dawson James Securities in Boca Raton and Emerson Bennett & Associates in Fort Lauderdale. Earlier in his career, he worked at various firms in New York, New Jersey, Georgia and Missouri.
Gouzos’ FINRA report is riddled with settled customer disputes and regulatory action by FINRA. In June 2006, FINRA sanctioned Gouzos for allegedly failing to implement his firm’s anti-money laundering compliance policy, instead relying on credit checks performed by the firm’s clearing firm to alert him to any instances of fraud or red flags indicating illicit behavior. FINRA imposed a $10,000 fine and required Gouzos to take part in anti-money laundering training.
In April 2007, Gouzos faced a customer dispute alleging $400,000 in damages after what the customer claimed to be excessive and unsuitable trades, but the case was settled for $75,000. Later that year, he was involved in another customer dispute, this time alleging damages of more than $2.5 million. The claimant alleged negligence, among other charges, and the case was eventually settled for $90,000. In his statement, Gouzos claimed he had no direct contact with the customer in question and suggested that he was named due to his position as a control person at the firm.
Most recently, Gouzos was named in a customer dispute over excessive trading, or churning, alleging damages of more than $400,000. Churning is when a stockholder trades a customer’s account in order to generate excessive fees, costs or commissions generally for the brokerage firm’s profit. Commissions or markups can greatly impact an investor’s portfolio because every dollar spent on expenses must be earned in market gains just for the account to break even. Churning, or excessive trading, are common securities arbitration claims.
The case was settled for more than $100,000 and Gouzos denied all charges, claiming again that he was not directly involved with the customer and he was simply being named due to his position of power or role at the brokerage firm, according to his statement on his FINRA broker report.
If you have found yourself facing financial losses at the hands of Peter Gouzos or any financial adviser, it is crucial that you know your rights and options as an investor. Securities arbitration is an effective way to recover losses caused by broker misconduct. Start the process that will help you recover your losses. Speak to an experienced securities attorney at Silver Law Group today. You won’t pay legal fees unless we win your case.