Leonard Marzocco, formerly with First Standard Financial Company and Spartan Capital Securities, Suspended by FINRA
Have you lost money with financial advisor Leonard J. Marzocco from Garden City, New York? We are looking into allegations made by FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) against Leonard Marzocco. FINRA filed a complaint against Marzocco regarding allegations while he was affiliated with First Standard Financial Company and Spartan Capital Securities. FINRA suspended Marzocco for 11 months.
Marzocco was being investigated regarding allegations that he engaged in unsuitable and excessive trading (churning) in customers’ accounts. FINRA alleged that three of Marzocco’s customers had accounts with a cost-to-equity ratios of 54% to 179% while at First Standard Financial Company and Spartan Capital Securities. To put this in perspective, if an account had a cost equity ratio of 50%, that means the trading in the account would have to make a 50% profit annually just to break even from the costs of trading.
Leonard Marzocco was a registered representative and financial advisor with First Standard Financial Company from October 2015 to March 2017 and June 2017 to July 2019. He also was affiliated with Spartan Capital Securities from January 2017 to July 2017. He worked out of a branch office in Garden City, New York. Marzocco has also been the subject of at least seven customer complaints.
Broker-dealers like First Standard Financial Company have a responsibility to adequately supervise all representatives who are registered through their firm, including investments sold by their registered representatives. Broker-dealers also must take steps to ensure that their financial advisors follow all securities rules and regulations. When broker-dealers fail to adequately supervise their registered representatives, they may be liable for investment losses sustained by customers.
Israels & Neuman PLC is a securities and investment fraud law firm with offices in Denver, Colorado; Seattle, Washington; Phoenix, Arizona; and Ann Arbor, Michigan. We represent investors in FINRA arbitration proceedings in all 50 states, including investors in New York. Our attorneys have represented over one thousand investors against many brokerage firms in the past.