The White Law Group is investigating potential securities claims involving Aegis Capital Corp. (CRD #15007, New York, NY).
Aegis Capital Corp., a mid-sized broker-dealer based in New York City, has 35 regulatory events, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
Aegis Capital Corp. was apparently at the top of the list of the worst ranked brokerage firms in the securities industry from 2007-2016, according to a report by the Securities Litigation & Consulting Group (SLCG).
The firm’s white paper “Rating Brokerage Firms by Their Complaint Histories Rather Than by Their Brokers’ Histories” found that while “only 2.6 percent of the brokers at firms with more than 200 brokers have customer complaints, Aegis Capital (24.49 percent) employs bad brokers (with complaints) at nearly 10 times that rate.”
FINRA Censures and Fines Aegis Capital Corp.
July 2019 The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) censured and fined Aegis Capital Corp. $93,125 for its alleged failure to file certain documents specified with FINRA after it had filed such documents with the SEC. According to FINRA, these documents have yet to be filed with FINRA. In addition, the firm filed certain documents between four days and over two years late. In connection with two prospectuses, the firm purportedly failed to disclose a total of $14,000 in fees and compensation for the underwriter’s counsel, according to FINRA’s findings.
This is not the first time Aegis has been in trouble with regulators.
Other Regulatory Actions
March 2018 – According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the regulator censured Aegis after it found that from at least late 2012 through early 2014, Aegis reportedly failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports (“SARs”) on hundreds of transactions when it knew, suspected, or had reason to suspect that the transactions involved the use of the broker-dealer to facilitate fraudulent activity or had no business or apparent lawful purpose. Many of the transactions involved red flags of potential market manipulation, including high trading volume in companies with little or no business activity during a time of simultaneous promotional activity. Aegis reportedly did not file SARs on these transactions even when it specifically identified AML red flags implicated by these transactions in its written supervisory procedures. The firm was fined $750,000 and ordered to cease and desist.
March 2018 – The SEC fined $550,000 for supervisory issues related to penny stock transactions.
March 2017 – The firm was censured and fined $52,000 and ordered to pay $615.87, plus interest, in restitution to investors; and required to revise its WSPs. Apparently the order memoranda failed to document the correct information regarding orders and these tickets improperly indicated that the orders were “held” orders.
The findings also stated that in transactions for or with a customer, the firm reportedly failed to execute a customer order fully and promptly.
August 2015 – According to a settlement with FINRA, the firm agreed to pay $950,000 over allegations of improper sales of billions of shares of unregistered penny stocks and anti-money- laundering supervisory lapses. Two former chief compliance officers at the firm also were suspended and fined over the charges.
Free Consultation with a Securities Attorney
The foregoing information, which is all publicly available, is being provided by The White Law Group. The White Law Group is a national securities arbitration, securities fraud, and investor protection law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois.
If you have concerns regarding investments you purchased through Aegis Capital Corp. and would like to speak with a securities attorney, please call The White Law Group at 888-637-5510.
For more information on The White Law Group, visit www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.
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