The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Craig Scott Taddonio. Craig Scott Taddonio was a New York based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for twelve years. During his career, he was registered with five different securities firms.
His Registrations
- Gunnallen Financial (2004-2005)
- JHS Capital Advisors (2005-2010)
- Brookstone Securities (2010-2012)
- Craig Scott Capital (2012-2016)
- Windsor Street Capital (2016-2017)
The latter three securities firms were all expelled by FINRA. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker.
The Allegations
Craig Scott Taddonio opened Craig Scott Capital in 2012. Taddonio allegedly implemented an aggressive, predatory trading system where he encouraged the firm’s brokers to use upcoming earnings announcements as a catalyst for recommending hundreds of short term-trades. The brokers allegedly churned Craig Scott Capital customer accounts so aggressively that they acquired over $5 million dollars in commissions while the customers suffered over $9 million dollars in losses.
Churning is a fraudulent trading practice that can occur as a result of how brokers are compensated for their services. This being how brokers receive a percentage of an investor’s principal investment whenever executing a trade on their behalf. This percentage acts as the broker’s commission for brokering the trade. Churning is when a broker excessively trades an investor’s account with the intent to generate additional commissions for themselves. Churning often causes serious financial harm to investors due to the unnecessary fees and losses that cause their investment to deteriorate.
Just about all of the Craig Scott Capital customers were identified as having speculative investment objectives. Craig Scott Taddonio allegedly told the brokers at Craig Scott Capital to target customers who would agree to “speculation,” even if it was not appropriate for them, and even if the customers were not completely aware what “speculation” even meant. Craig Scott Taddonio allegedly believed that this type of sales practice would give his sales staff the freedom to aggressively churn their customer’s accounts.
Craig Scott Capital was expelled by FINRA after allegedly failing to fully comply with an award that had been ordered by a FINRA arbitration panel. Craig Scott Taddonio was barred by FINRA in December 2015. While he appealed this, he continued to work as a registered broker until March 2017 when a decision was finally reached and he was officially expelled from acting as a securities broker in any fashion.
Oakes & Fosher Can Help
Many investors are unaware of the legal recourse available to them after losing money due to securities broker fraud and/or negligence. The truth is that investors who have lost money in this fashion may actually be entitled to damages.
Oakes & Fosher dedicates its entire legal practice to helping investors across the nation. If you, or someone you know, have lost money investing with Craig Scott Taddonio, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation.
