The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Ezri Shechter. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Ezri Shechter was the subject of multiple customer complaints over the course of his career.
Ezri Shechter operated most recently as a New Jersey based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for twenty-two years. During his career, he was registered with ten different securities firms. He is not currently working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.
His Registrations
- Global Equities Group (1997)
- Foster Jeffries Securities (1997-1998)
- Hornblower & Weeks (1998)
- Paragon Capital Markets (1998-1999)
- Drake & Company (1999-2000)
- Coleman & Company Securities (1999)
- Kirlin Securities (2000-2001)
- Valley Forge Securities (2001)
- Bishop, Rosen & Co. (2002-2004)
- Spencer-Winston Securities (2004-2020)
The Allegations
- In May 2000, a customer alleged that Ezri Shechter churned their account, recommended unsuitable investments, and breached his fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $37,999 in damages.
- In April 2004, a customer alleged that Ezri Shechter executed unauthorized trades, recommended unsuitable investments, churned their account, and breached his fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $35,000 in damages.
- In December 2010, a customer alleged that Ezri Shechter excessively traded their account. This case was settled for $100,000 in damages.
- In October 2012, a customer alleged that Ezri Shechter executed unauthorized trades, recommended unsuitable securities, made material omissions of fact, managed their account negligently, breached contract, breached his fiduciary duty, and failed to follow instructions. This case was settled for $20,000 in damages.
- In December 2019, Ezri Shechter was officially sanctioned by FINRA. The findings in this matter state that Shechter caused multiple customers to sign blank or incomplete discretionary trading forms and then completed the forms after the fact. Due to these alleged actions, Ezri Shechter was fined $12,500 in damages and was suspended from acting as a securities broker in any fashion for a period of three months.
What Does This Mean?
Discretionary trading is a trading practice that allows a securities broker to manage an investor’s account without having to obtain their authorization prior to executing trades. However, before a broker can begin this practice, they must first receive express written authorization from the account holder. When customers sign blank and incomplete forms meant to authorize this practice, it implies that they may have agreed to the practice without fully understanding what exactly they were agreeing to. The reason that this process is so strict is due to the nature of discretion. The truth is that this type of trading can be a very slippery slope. Discretion gives brokers ample opportunity to trade their customers’ accounts in an unsuitable fashion. This includes placing them in trades they are not financially suited for, and trading their accounts more frequently than is suitable.
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 Ezri Shechter, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. We work on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.
