FINRA Arbitrators Rule Expelled Brokerage Must Pay $3.2 Million for Excessive Trading

Posted on October 2nd, 2023 at 1:09 PM
FINRA Arbitrators Rule Expelled Brokerage Must Pay $3.2 Million for Excessive Trading

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law 

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitrators issued an award holding Salomon Whitney Financial (SW Financial) accountable for excessive, unsuitable, and unauthorized stock trading on margin in a customer account.

The FINRA panel ordered the firm to pay a total of $3.2 million, which includes $1.4 million in compensatory damages, $500,000 in punitive damages, $975,171 in returned commissions and fees, $297,208 in attorneys' fees, $7602 in costs, and $400 in arbitration fees.

According to InvestmentNews, the customer accused Peter Girgis, the financial advisor at SW Financial, of engaging in churning with high-risk stocks. The customer further alleged that Girgis did not conduct reasonable due diligence on these unsuitable investments and failed to disclose the associated risks and the strategy.

 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, finra

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

If you find yourself in trouble with the regulators, call Eccleston Law, you won't regret it.

Rick R.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

September 15, 2025
California Young-Gun Investor Charged in Alleged $6 Million Ponzi Scheme

Federal prosecutors have accused Mihir Deepak Sukthankar, a California resident once celebrated as a teenage trading “prodigy,” of orchestrating a multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme.

September 12, 2025
LPL Broker Fined and Suspended for Recommending Risky Investments to Elderly Client

An LPL Financial broker in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, has agreed to sanctions after FINRA found he violated Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) when recommending unsuitable investments to an elderly customer.

 

September 11, 2025
Montana Federal Judge Allows Family's Premium Financing Claims to Proceed

A federal judge in Montana has allowed a family to move forward with negligence, fraud, and unjust enrichment claims tied to a premium-financed life insurance arrangement valued at $67.5 million.