David Dalton Suspended By FINRA For Allegedly Executing Unauthorized Discretionary Trades

The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is currently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker David Dalton. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, David Dalton has been the subject of a regulatory sanction.

David Dalton is a New York-based securities broker who had worked in the securities industry for fifty-four years. During his career, he had been registered with nine different securities firms.

His Registrations 

• S. Moseley & Co. (1965-1973)


• S. Moseley, Estabrook (1973-1974)


• Moseley, Hallgarten & Estabrook (1974-1977)


• Hornblower, Weeks, Noyes & Trask (1977-1978)


• Loeb Partners (1978-1979)


• Lehman Brothers (1979-1993)


• Smith Barney (1993-1995)


• Tucker Anthony (1995-2002)


• Moors & Cabot (2002-2020)

The Allegations 

In February 2020, Dalton was officially sanctioned by FINRA.  The findings state that he exercised discretionary trading authority in his member firm customers’ accounts without having first obtained written authorization from either the customers or the firm.  The findings also indicated that Dalton failed to indicate that he had exercised discretionary trading authority at all, causing the firm to create and maintain inaccurate investment records.

What Does This Mean?

In a typical broker/client relationship, a broker must contact the client before purchasing or selling a stock on his behalf.  If a broker purchases a security for a client without contacting the client, that would amount to a violation of FINRA rules and the law, and is referred to as unauthorized trading.  Some firms allow brokers to operate accounts on a discretionary basis, which means that the broker receives written authorization to act on the customer’s behalf without contacting the customer prior to the transactions.  Some brokers however will defraud a client by acting on a discretionary basis without receiving written authorization.  Discretion can be dangerous, as it gives the broker the power to make potentially unsuitable investments as they please.

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 David Dalton, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. Oakes & Fosher handles cases on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.