Stifel Fined $2.5 Million After Advisor Charged Excessive Fees to Seniors and a Church

Posted on May 4th, 2023 at 1:24 PM
Stifel Fined $2.5 Million After Advisor Charged Excessive Fees to Seniors and a Church

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law 

Massachusetts’ top securities regulator, William Galvin, has ordered Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. to pay $2.5 million for failing to supervise an advisor’s questionable trades, which charged excessive and unauthorized fees to several senior clients, nonprofits, and a church.

Stifel has additionally agreed to pay at least $700,000 in restitution to Massachusetts customers as part of a consent order. According to Galvin, former Stifel advisor Joseph Crespi “subjected many of his clients to predatory sales practices over several years, leading to higher commission sales for himself and his employer.” Galvin’s investigation further discovered “wide-ranging harm” to Massachusetts customers, which stemmed from “multiple instances of Stifel employees using personal cell phones to conduct business and distributing retail communications in violation of firm and regulatory requirements.”

Galvin’s order additionally noted that Stifel has paid more than $14 million in fines, civil penalties, disgorgement, and restitution over the past five years. Crespi, who was registered with Stifel between 2018 and 2022, was the firm’s sixth highest-producing New England-based employee as of June 2019.

 

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

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

Thank you for your professional assistance with this matter. You are very good at what you do.

John T.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

February 19, 2026
Wall Street Journal Analysis Questions Investor Gains Following DuPont's Decade-Long Breakup

A Wall Street Journal analysis has raised questions about investor returns following DuPont’s multi-year corporate restructuring, which divided the historic conglomerate into multiple independent companies.

February 18, 2026
American Portfolios Ordered to Pay $4.6 Million in Restitution Over Cash Sweep Program Disclosures

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has ordered American Portfolios Financial Services to return $4.6 million to customers and pay monetary sanctions after determining that the firm overcharged investors and failed to properly disclose how it generated revenue through a cash sweep program.

February 17, 2026
FINRA Fines Kingswood Capital Partners $150,000 for Supervisory Failures in GWG L Bond Sales

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) censured and fined San Diego–based broker-dealer Kingswood Capital Partners $150,000 after finding supervisory failures tied to sales of high-risk GWG L bonds.