The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker William Gennity. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, William Gennity has been the subject of multiple customer disputes over the course of his career.
William Gennity was a New York-based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for twelve years. During his career, he was registered with seven different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.
His Registrations
- Joseph Stevens & Company (2005-2006)
- J.P. Turner & Company (2006, 2009-2010)
- Mercer Capital (2006)
- National Securities Corporation (2006-2009, 2010-2011)
- Legend Securities (2011-2012)
- Alexander Capital (2012-2014)
- First Standard Financial Company (2014-2018)
The Allegations
- In July 2017, a customer alleged that William Gennity churned their account and breached his fiduciary duty. This case was settled for $75,000 in damages.
- In April 2018, a customer alleged that William Gennity excessively traded their account and charged them excessive commissions. This case went to arbitration where the customer was awarded over $2.4 million in damages.
- In December 2018, a customer alleged that William Gennity churned their account and executed unsuitable trades. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $90,198 in damages.
- In February 2019, a customer alleged that William Gennity recommended unsuitable investments, executed unauthorized trades, and excessively traded their account. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $380,000 in damages.
- In March 2019, William Gennity was officially sanctioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The findings in this matter state that Gennity recommended four customers engage in a high cost, in-and-out trading strategy even though he lacked a reasonable basis to believe the recommendations were suitable. This strategy resulted in heavy losses to the customers but provided him with significant ill-gotten commissions. Due to these alleged actions, William Gennity was barred by the SEC from acting as a securities broker in any fashion.
Churning
Securities brokers are compensated for their services in multiple different ways. Most securities brokers charge investors a percentage of their principal investment whenever executing a trade on their behalf. This manner of compensation has led to the fraudulent trading act known as churning. Churning occurs when a securities broker trades an investor’s account excessively in a manner unsuitable to the account holder. This is done in the attempt to increase the amount they (the broker) receives in commissions. This act can be detrimental to investors due the trading losses and fees it causes them to incur. These fees can very easily rack up and cause investor principals to be significantly drained.
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 William Gennity, 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.
