The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is currently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker Leonard Marzocco. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Leonard Marzocco was the subject of multiple customer disputes over the course of his career.
Leonard Marzocco was a New York-based securities broker who worked in the securities industry for ten years. During his career, he was registered with eight different securities firms.
His Registrations
- Win Capital Corp. (1998-1999)
- Institutional Equity Corporation (1999-2000)
- Ladenburg Capital Management (2000-2002)
- Ehrenkrantz King Nussbaum (2002-2004)
- Rockwell Global Capital (2014-2015)
- First Standard Financial Company (2015-2017)
- Spartan Capital Securities (2017-2017)
- First Standard Financial Company (2017-2019)
- Woodstock Financial Group (2019-2019)
The Allegations
- In February 2002, a customer alleged that Leonard Marzocco failed to execute the sell side of a day trade. This case was settled for $70,000 in damages.
- In May 2005, a customer alleged that Marzocco was managed their account negligently, recommended unsuitable investments, made material misrepresentations about investments, and breached his fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $25,000 in damages.
- In October 2017, a client alleged that Marzocco had recommended unsuitable investments, excessively traded in their account, made material misrepresentations about investments, and breached his fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $10,500 in damages.
- In July 2020, Marzocco was officially sanctioned by FINRA for allegedly engaging in quantitatively unsuitable trading in customer accounts. The findings stated that Marzocco’s trading of the accounts resulted in high turnover rates and cost-to-equity ratios as well as significant losses. As a result of these findings, Marzocco was suspended from acting as a securities broker in all capacities for a period of 11 months.
What Does This Mean?
Securities brokers have a legal and ethical obligation to always act in their customers’ best financial interests. This obligation is the investment broker’s duty as a fiduciary. This duty compels brokers to choose investments for their customers that are actually suitable for them based on factors that include investment objectives, financial situation, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs. Brokers who invest their customers contrary to these factors either do so in an attempt to defraud the investor, or are just incredibly negligent. Either of which disqualify the broker from being able to perform their duties to the necessary standards required for their position.
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 due to this fraud or negligence 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 Leonard Marzocco, 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.
