New York-based First Standard Financial Broker William Gennity Under Investigation For Unsuitable Investment Recommendations, Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Unauthorized Trading

William C. Gennity

CRD#4913490

Silver Law Group is investigating Staten Island, New York-based First Standard Financial Company broker Willam Gennity following a customer complaint alleging unauthorized investment activity, unsuitable investment recommendations and breach of fiduciary duty.

According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck report on Gennity, a complaint was received in August of 2017 alleging that Gennity engaged in unauthorized trading during his time at Wells Fargo Advisors. This complaint is currently pending FINRA arbitration and alleges $435,000 in damages

Gennity also has 2 other pending complaints on his FINRA broker check report that alleges churning and unsuitable/excessive trading. The damages from these complaints total more than $800,000.

Thompson is employed by First Standard Financial Company at their Staten Island, NY location. He was previously registered with Alexander Capital based out of New York, NY.

Unsuitable Recommendations and unauthorized trading are both serious forms of potential broker misconduct.  A broker’s employing firm is responsible for overseeing the broker to prevent such misconduct.  Failure to supervise is a claim made against a brokerage firm in these situations.

Unauthorized trading occurs when a broker facilitates a transaction without the permission of the customer in a non-discretionary account.  According to FINRA, it is one of the common investor issues along with misrepresentation, cold-calling, and unsuitability.

Often, unauthorized trading is accompanied by churning.  Churning occurs when the account frequently trades for no apparent reason but to generate fees and commissions.

Also, among other investment tenets, brokers are required to recommend suitable investments to their customers. This requires that the broker: Investigates and conducts due diligence into the investment’s attributes including its benefits, risks, tax consequences, and other relevant factors to form a reasonable basis for the recommendation of the product; and appropriately matches the investment with the customer’s specific investment needs and objectives, such as the customer’s retirement status, long or short-term goals, age, disability, income needs, or any other relevant factors.

When a broker or brokerage firm fails to recommend investments to its customers along those guidelines, there must be accountability.  If you have lost money on an investment that did not fit your investment profile, you may be able to recover some or all of your lost money.

FINRA arbitration is a fast, efficient way to recover your lost investment funds due to unsuitable investment recommendation or unauthorized trading.  The Silver Law Group works on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay us nothing unless we recover money for you.

If you invested with William Gennity and First Standard Financial and have lost money doing so, you may be able to recover some or all of your losses. We are experienced in recovering investor losses due to broker/brokerage firm misconduct and mismanagement through FINRA arbitration.

Silver Law Group represents the interests of investors who have been the victims of investment fraud.  If you have questions about your legal rights, please contact Scott Silver of the Silver Law Group for a free consultation at ssilver@silverlaw.com or toll-free at (800) 975-4345.