The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the possible misconduct of former securities broker Steven Pagartanis. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Steven Pagartanis has been the subject of multiple customer disputes over the course of his career.
Steven Pagartanis was a New York based securities broker. He worked in the securities field for twenty-eight years. During his career, he was registered with eleven different securities firms.
His Registrations
- Prudential Insurance Company of America (1989-1993)
- Pruco Securities Corporation (1989-1994)
- John Hancock Distributors/John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company (1995-1996)
- Tower Square Securities (1996-1997)
- Guardian Investor Services (1997-1999)
- Park Avenue Securities (1999-2002)
- Yankee Financial Group (2002-2003)
- Cadaret, Grand & Company (2003-2005 , 2006-2011, 2012-2017)
- Invest Financial Corporation (2005-2006)
- Woodbury Financial Services (2011-2012)
- Lombard Securities (2017-2018)
The Allegations
Steven Pagartanis’ FINRA BrokerCheck report shows that he is currently being charged by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly defrauding multiple customers in a five year long investment scam amassing a total of 8 million dollars. He allegedly told these investors that he was putting their money into a common security known as Genesis Land Development. This was a Canadian land development and home building company. Their stock is listed on the Toronto stock exchange.
Steven Pagartanis allegedly set up an LLC, in which he was the sole owner, simply named Genesis. He then allegedly had his customers make checks payable, as well as endorse checks they already had received, to “Genesis” as opposed to Genesis Land Development. He allegedly didn’t make a single investment, but rather deposited the customers’ funds into various bank accounts, and used the money for personal expenses. Steven Pagartanis allegedly even created false account statements that indicated the customers owned Genesis Land Development stock.
Steven Pagartanis had allegedly assured his customers that these were safe investments that would yield monthly returns. He then allegedly used money from the converted funds to pay a monthly sum to the customers in a Ponzi scheme like manner. In a Ponzi scheme, the broker falsifies financial information to give the appearance that the stock is generating capital, when, in reality, the dividends are simply paid through new funds that the broker has brought in through other investors. Eventually, Steven Pagartanis allegedly stopped making these payments altogether. The principal investments were not returned to the customers.
Before the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against Steven Pagartanis, multiple of these customers had filed complaints against his member firm regarding the allegations. In March 2017, a customer alleged that Steven Pagartanis made material misrepresentations, managed their account negligently, and committed fraud. This matter was settled for $97,000. This led to him being terminated from his position at Cadaret, Grant & Company. Steven Pagartanis then became registered with Lombard Securities, only to be terminated less than one year later in March of 2018 after more complaints were filed regarding Genesis. Most of these complaints were settled, with one of them actually going to arbitration where the customer was awarded $2.7 million in damages.
Due to the allegations against him, Steven Pagartanis was barred by FINRA from acting as a securities broker in any fashion.
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 Steven Pagartanis, 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.
