John Kell, writing for the Wall Street Journal, recently exposed a pattern of securities fraud against a congregation of nuns living in the Bronx, New York. The broker, Paul George Chironis, settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when convicted of churning 2 accounts owned by the Sisters of Charity ? one account held money for the care of nuns in assisted-living facilities and the other account supported the nuns’ charitable endeavors ? all occurring during 2007. At that time, Mr. Chironis was affiliated with Capital Growth Financial in Boca Raton, FL.
Churning is a fraudulent practice where brokers engage in excessive trading of investment accounts in order to generate higher commissions and other revenue without regard to customer investment objectives. According to the SEC, Mr. Chironis charged the nuns excessive undisclosed markups and markdowns in transactions.
In the settlement, Chironis agreed to pay $350,000 without admitting guilt or denying any allegations. He was also barred from associations with any broker, dealer or investment adviser, nationally recognized statistical ratings organization and was prohibited from other investment and advisory board jobs.
If you suspect that you may be a victim of churned investments, the lawyers at Page Perry can help. Page Perry, is an Atlanta-based law firm with over 125 years of collective experience representing investors in securities-related litigation and arbitration. While past results are not indicative of future success, Page Perry’s attorneys have assisted dozens of investors in recovering over $125 million from different brokerage firms since 2005. Page Perry’s attorneys are actively involved in counseling institutional and individual investors regarding their investment problems. For further information, please contact us.