Anthony Joseph Graziano, of New York, New York, a stockbroker currently registered with Joseph Stone Capital LLC, has been fined $5,000.00 and suspended for three months from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any supervisory capacity supported by findings that he failed to supervise a stockbroker who made excessive trades in a customer’s account at Joseph Stone Capital. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2020066887201 (December 8, 2021).
According to the AWC, between August of 2019 and June of 2020, Graziano was responsible for supervising stockbrokers at Joseph Stone’s Manhattan, New York offices. Graziano was required under Joseph Stone’s written supervisory procedures to conduct a review of the trade blotter and confront stockbrokers who potentially committed sales practice violations. He was also responsible for enforcing restrictions that a different Joseph Stone supervisor imposed on a particular stockbroker. Graziano failed to supervise according to his duties.
The AWC states that the trade blotter was reviewed by Graziano; however, he did not detect that one of his stockbrokers made excessive trades in a senior investor’s account. Graziano did not pick up on signs of excessive trading when he reviewed the blotter, as that blotter indicated that the stockbroker made in-and-out trades concerning the same security. Graziano was told by another principal that a customer’s account might be excessively traded given the cost-to-equity ratio in that account; however, Graziano did not investigate if the stockbroker violated sales practice rules.
Restrictions on a stockbroker’s commissions were made by a different supervisor, and Graziano was responsible for enforcing those restrictions. But between September of 2019 and January of 2020, on six occasions, the customer had been charged more than the allowable commissions. The customer’s account contained a cost-to-equity ratio of 22 percent between August of 2019 and June of 2020. The stockbroker caused the customer to incur nearly $120,000.00 in trading costs and commissions.
FINRA found that Graziano failed to supervise in violation of Rules 2010 and 3110.
Graziano has been identified in three customer initiated investment related disputes concerning allegations of his harmful activities while he was registered with American Capital Partners and GunnAllen Financial. FINRA Public Disclosure shows that Graziano is the subject of a customer initiated investment related written complaint which was settled for $9,000.00 in damages founded on accusations of churning and unsuitable trading of over-the-counter equities when Graziano was associated with GunnAllen Financial.
A different customer filed an investment related complaint involving Graziano’s conduct in which the customer sought $8,000.00 in damages based upon allegations of excessive markups and excessive trading at American Capital Partners.
Another customer filed an investment related complaint regarding Graziano’s activities where the customer requested $7,500.00 in damages supported by accusations that their account had been churned during the time that Graziano was registered with American Capital Partners. The complaint also alleges unauthorized trading of stocks.
Graziano has been registered with Joseph Stone Capital since June 5, 2015.
