Stephen Sullivan Allegedly Trades A Customer’s Account Excessively

The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is currently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker Stephen Sullivan. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Stephen Sullivan has been the subject of multiple customer disputes over the course of his career.

Stephen Sullivan is a New York-based securities broker who worked in the securities industry for twenty-one years. During his career, he has been registered with fourteen securities firms.

His Registrations 

• Ladenburg Capital Management (1998-2002)


• Ladenburg, Thalman & Co. (2002-2005)


• Granite Associates (2005-2006)


• Whitaker Securities (2006)


• Newbridge Securities Corporation (2006-2007/2016-2017)


• J.P. Turner & Company (2007-2010)


• First Midwest Securities (2010-2012)


• Brookville Capital Partners (2012-2014/2015-2015)


• Wilmington Capital Securities (2014-2015)


• Tryco Securities (2015-2015)


• Legend Securities (2015-2016)


• Worden Capital Management (2017-2018)


• SW Financial (2018-2019)


• Spartan Capital Securities (2019-Present)

The Allegations 

• In February 2016, Stephen Sullivan was officially sanctioned by FINRA for allegedly exercising discretionary trading in the accounts of two separate customers without obtaining prior written authorization from his customers to exercise discretion in their accounts. As a result of these findings, Sullivan was suspended from acting as a securities broker in all capacities for a period of ten days and fined $5,000.


• In October 2019, a customer alleged that Sullivan excessively traded and executed unauthorized and unsuitable trades in their account. This case was settled for $39,998 in damages.

What Does This Mean?

Excessive trading, or churning, is a deceptive trading practice instituted by securities brokers like Michael Siegel. It centers around the securities broker trading a customer's account excessively even if it has no financial benefit to the investor. The reason they do it then is because it generates additional commissions for each trade they execute. Despite its fraudulent nature, many securities brokers continue to engage in this practice.

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 Jeffrey Glusman, 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.