The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker Seth Nannini. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Seth Nannini has been the subject of multiple customer disputes and a FINRA sanction.
Seth Nannini is a North Carolina based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for seventeen years. During his career, he has been registered with five different securities firms.
His Registrations
- Morgan Stanley (2001-2002)
- Veravest Investments (2002-2003)
- Equity Services (2003-2005)
- MML Investors Services (2005-2006)
- Capital Investment Group (2006-Present)
The Allegations
- In November 2015, a customer alleged that Seth Nannini failed to properly disclose sub-account options and optional benefit rider of a variable annuity.
- In April 2016, a customer alleged that Seth Nannini committed fraud and constructive fraud, made negligent misrepresentations, handled their account negligently, and violated the North Carolina Securities Act. This case was settled for $60,000 in damages.
- In December 2018, Seth Nannini was officially sanctioned by FINRA. The findings in this matter state that he solicited two firm customers to invest a total of $290,000 in a biotech manufacturing company, which was a private security not approved by his member firm. Almost all of the $290,000 was lost due to the unsuitable nature of the investment. Nannini allegedly failed to provide written notice to his firm that he was going to purchase securities away from the firm. Due to these alleged actions, he was forced to pay $7,500 in restitution and was suspended from acting as a securities broker in any fashion for a period of four months.
What Does This Mean?
Securities brokers are not allowed to recommend private investments outside the scope of their member firms without first seeking authorization. This is because these types of investments are incredibly harmful to investors. This is because they are speculative and illiquid securities that are accompanied by excessively high fees. Most of these fees are paid to the selling broker as their commission for brokering the trades. These commissions create significant conflicts of interest for recommending brokers and serve as a motivation for recommending the unsuitable private products. This is why investors are supposed to obtain their firm’s authorization before recommending these investments. This gives firms the opportunity to determine if a conflict of interest might exist, or if any investor will be harmed by the broker’s recommendations. However, the fact that a securities broker forgoes the disclosure of their intent to engage in these unauthorized activities does not absolve the securities firm from liability. Firms are required to have adequate procedures in place designed to adequately supervise brokers and prevent them from engaging in any unauthorized activity.
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 Seth Nannini, 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.