Written by The White Law Group• October 24, 2025• 1:28 am• Blog, FINRA SEC Sanctions

Aegis Capital Corp. Review: Complaints, Regulatory Actions, Lawsuits

Aegis Capital Corp. Customer Complaints & Regulatory Actions, featured by top securities fraud attorneys, The White Law Group

The White Law Group reviews the regulatory history of Aegis Capital Corp.

Aegis Capital Corp. (CRD #15007, New York, NY) is a mid-sized broker-dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm has a long record of regulatory sanctions, customer complaints, and FINRA fines related to supervisory, reporting, and suitability failures.

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According to a review by the Securities Litigation & Consulting Group (SLCG), Aegis Capital was among the worst-ranked brokerage firms in the securities industry from 2007–2016. The firm’s record continues to raise concerns among regulators and investors.

2024–2025 Updates: FINRA Fines Aegis Capital Corp. $275,000

October 2025 — FINRA Sanctions for Supervisory and Recordkeeping Failures

In October 2025, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that Aegis Capital Corp. agreed to a censure and a $275,000 fine to resolve allegations involving inaccurate books and records, supervisory failures, and the use of an unregistered operations professional.

According to FINRA, since 2019 Aegis misclassified several million dollars in payments to its corporate parent as management service expenses rather than capital distributions. This resulted in inaccurate ledgers, net capital computations, and FOCUS filings.

FINRA also found that Aegis failed to maintain adequate supervisory systems and written procedures to ensure proper classification of financial transactions. Further, between 2014 and mid-2025, the firm allowed an unregistered individual to perform duties requiring registration, including supervision of accounting functions and approval of ledger entries.

As part of the settlement, Aegis must have a senior manager certify within 90 days that it has implemented compliant supervisory systems. FINRA cited violations of Rule 2010 and related supervisory rules requiring firms to uphold just and equitable principles of trade.

Aegis Capital’s Risk Ranking and Complaint History

According to a 2024 Brokerage Firm Risk Ranking Report from SLCG Economic Consulting, Aegis Capital allegedly has one of the highest volumes of customer complaints in the industry.

Over the past three years, Aegis Capital reportedly underwrote $1 billion in securities that lost substantial value. SLCG alleges that Aegis kept struggling companies afloat by selling these stocks to customers and other brokerage clients, acting as an underwriter, broker-dealer, and market maker — often to the detriment of investors.

SLCG reportedly found that 93.5% of the 186 stocks Aegis underwrote had negative returns, performing 80% worse than the Dow Jones U.S. Micro-Cap Index — suggesting losses well beyond typical market risk. See: Digital Ally Inc. (NASDAQ: DGLY): Investigating Claims

In a separate 2020 SLCG white paper, “Rating Brokerage Firms by Their Complaint Histories Rather Than by Their Brokers’ Histories,” researchers found that while only 2.6% of brokers at large firms had customer complaints, 24.49% of Aegis Capital brokers had at least one complaint — nearly ten times the industry average.

FINRA and SEC Enforcement Actions Against Aegis Capital Corp.

Aegis Capital Corp. reportedly has 41 disclosure events on its FINRA BrokerCheck report, including 40 regulatory events and one arbitration.

Below is a summary of notable regulatory actions and settlements:

Excessive and Unsuitable Trading (November 2021)

FINRA censured and fined Aegis Capital $2.8 million, including $1.7 million in restitution to 68 customers. Supervisors allegedly failed to detect excessive and unsuitable trading in customer accounts from 2014–2018. The firm also faced a $1.1 million fine for supervisory failures.

Montana Securities Violations (August 2024)

The Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance fined Aegis $25,000 and ordered $122,000 in restitution to an investor for alleged supervisory violations and securities law breaches.

Bond Pricing Violations (March 2021)

Aegis was censured and fined $80,000, plus $43,912.89 in restitution, for failing to provide favorable pricing in corporate bond transactions, violating MSRB Rules G-30 and G-17.

Late and Inaccurate Filings (July 2019)

FINRA fined Aegis $93,125 for failing to timely file required documents and for omitting $14,000 in underwriter counsel fees from prospectus disclosures.

SEC Sanctions for AML and Penny Stock Failures (2018)

The SEC fined Aegis $750,000 for failing to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) on hundreds of transactions that showed red flags of potential fraud and market manipulation. The SEC also fined the firm $550,000 for supervisory failures in penny stock trading.

Additional FINRA Actions

March 2017 – Fined $52,000 for recordkeeping and order execution failures.
August 2015 – Paid $950,000 to settle allegations of unregistered penny stock sales and AML lapses.

Broker Misconduct and Customer Complaints

Broker-dealers must supervise their employees and ensure compliance with securities laws. Several Aegis Capital brokers have faced suspensions, fines, and bars for misconduct.

Unsuitable Investment Recommendations (October 2023)

An Aegis broker in Melville, NY, was suspended and fined for recommending speculative alternative investments to customers that were inconsistent with their investment profiles. The products included Automotive Portfolio limited partnership interests.

Structured Product Losses (September 2022)

Former Aegis broker Alan Z. Appelbaum was barred by FINRA after allegedly making over 140 unsuitable recommendations of complex structured products for seven retail customers, leading to significant investor losses exceeding $1 million.

Excessive Trading and Senior Investor Losses (March 2022)

FINRA suspended Aegis broker Scott Hananel for 15 months for alleged excessive trading that caused senior investors to incur over $2 million in losses and $1.4 million in trading costs.

Aegis Capital Corp. Lawsuits and FINRA Arbitration Claims

The White Law Group is investigating potential FINRA arbitration claims involving Aegis Capital Corp. and its financial advisors for unsuitable investment recommendations, churning, unauthorized trading, and supervisory failures.

When brokers violate securities laws or FINRA rules, the firm they are employed by may be liable for investment losses through FINRA arbitration.

Class Action vs. Individual FINRA Arbitration

While class action lawsuits may benefit investors with smaller claims, investors with substantial losses (typically over $100,000) are often better served by pursuing individual FINRA arbitration claims.

Recovering Investment Losses – Free Consultation

If you suffered investment losses with Aegis Capital Corp., call The White Law Group at (888) 637-5510 for a free consultation.

The White Law Group is a national securities fraud and investor protection law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington. Our attorneys have handled over 800 FINRA arbitration cases on behalf of investors across the country.

We represent clients in claims involving: