Angelo Julius Piccone, of Pittsford, New York, a former stockbroker associated with IBN Financial Services Inc., has been sanctioned by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) because Piccone made the unsuitable investment recommendation of alternative investments during the time that he was associated with IBN Financial Services. FINRA’s Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2022076855802 (January 29, 2025).
According to the AWC, between November 2020 and February 2021, Piccone recommended eleven sales of speculative, illiquid alternative investments totaling $457,000. The affected customer had a moderate risk tolerance, an annual income of no more than $25,000, and a net worth of $587,438. Piccone’s recommendations resulted in the customer being 77 percent concentrated in alternative investments, including a 15 percent concentration in speculative bonds. These recommendations were not in the customer’s best interest based on her investment profile. Piccone earned $23,905.81 in commissions from these transactions. FINRA found that Piccone also used his personal mobile device to communicate with the customer about securities business, including making an unbalanced, promissory, and misleading statement about the prospects of recovering funds from an investment.
FINRA found that Piccone willfully violated Regulation Best Interest, Rule 15l-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In addition to violating Reg BI, Piccone’s use of personal text messages to conduct securities business caused IBN Financial Services Inc. to fail to comply with recordkeeping obligations under Section 17(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 17a-4(b)(4). By doing so, Piccone also violated FINRA Rules 4511 and 2010.
The regulatory action resulted in Piccone being sanctioned with a $10,000 fine, disgorgement of $23,905.81, and a five-month suspension from associating with any FINRA member in all capacities. His suspension begins on February 3, 2025, and ends on July 2, 2025.
Piccone’s regulatory history includes three customer disputes. FINRA Public Disclosure shows that on February 20, 2023, a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim was filed against him alleging unsuitable investment recommendations, given the customer’s risk profile. The customer sought $90,000 in damages, and the case settled on March 7, 2024, for $63,000. FINRA Arbitration No. 23-00127.
In a separate customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim filed on July 31, 2018, a customer alleged negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation, and failure to supervise certain representatives in connection with the sale of United Development Funding (UDF) III, UDF IV, and Behringer Harvard REIT I. The requested damages were $145,000, and the case settled on August 28, 2019, for $20,000. FINRA Arbitration No. 18-02645.
Another FINRA securities arbitration claim, filed on May 9, 2017, alleged unsuitable recommendations in oil and gas partnerships and REITs, specifically UDF IV. The claim also alleged incomplete disclosures and insufficient due diligence. The claim settled for $20,000. FINRA Arbitration No. 17-01055.
Piccone was associated with IBN Financial Services Inc. in Pittsford, New York, from April 2011 to November 2024.
