Elliot Harris Allegedly Churns His Clients’ Accounts

Many investors are unaware of the legal recourse available to them after losing money due to securities broker negligence and/or fraud. The truth is, investors who have lost money in this fashion may be entitled to damages. The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently interested in hearing from investors who feel this may be them.

Oakes & Fosher is currently investigating former securities broker Elliot Harris. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Elliot Harris has been the subject of multiple customer disputes.

Elliot Harris operated most recently as a Georgia based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for twenty-one years. During his career, he was registered with five different securities firms.

His Registrations

• Ladenburg Capital Management (1994-2005, 2009-2015)


• AXA Advisors (2005-2008)


• Citigroup Global Markets (2008-2009)


• Morgan Stanley (2009)


• Triad Advisors (2010-2015)

The Allegations

• In May 2016, customers alleged churning, unsuitability, common law fraud, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $45,000 in damages.


• Also in May 2016, customers alleged that Elliot Harris breached contract, breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, handled their account negligently, executed unauthorized transactions, churned their account, breached his fiduciary duty, and violated the Texas Securities Act. This case was settled for $825,000 in damages. He received an identical complaint in June 2016. This case was settled for $1.25 million in damages.


• In July 2016, a customer alleged breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, negligence, unauthorized transactions, churning, and breach of fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $145,000 in damages.


• In December 2016, customers alleged that Elliot Harris breached contract, engaged in fraud, handled their account negligently, executed unauthorized transactions, churned their account, breached his fiduciary duty, and misrepresented material details. The alleged transgressions taking place between November 2009 and December 2015. This case was settled for $169,000 in damages.

What Does This Mean?

One of the most common allegations levied against Elliot Harris was account churning. This is a deceptive trading practice that many securities brokers, like Elliot Harris, partake in despite its fraudulent nature. It centers around the securities broker executing trades in their customer's account more frequently than is necessary. This is done with the express purpose of generating larger and additional commissions for themself. This process is so detrimental to the customer due to the substantial fees and losses that they incur. When customers lose significant amounts from their principal investment, it becomes almost impossible to generate any profit under anything besides exceptional market conditions.

Oakes & Fosher Can Help

Oakes & Fosher dedicates its entire legal practice to helping investors across the nation. If you, or someone you know, have lost money investing with Elliot Harris, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation.