Daniel James O’Neill (also known as Dan O’Neill) of Melville New York a stockbroker formerly registered with Aegis Capital Corp. has been charged by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Department of Enforcement in a Complaint alleging that O’Neill executed unsuitable trades and engaged in excessive trading at Aegis Capital Corp. Department of Enforcement v. Daniel James O’Neill Disciplinary Action No. 2021070337301 (July 29, 2021).
According to the Complaint, O’Neill effected unsuitable trades in the account of a 59-year-old basketball coach who aimed to preserve capital and take no more than moderate risk. O’Neill allegedly took the customer from having a balanced portfolio of mutual funds and equities to having approximately 90 percent of their assets in equities. Short-term trades and the use of margin was allegedly recommended by O’Neill to this customer.
The Complaint stated that O’Neill had control over the customer’s account when he executed excessive and unauthorized trades. The regulator claimed that the customer went along with O’Neill’s decisions on what securities to buy and sell and at which time these transactions would occur.
O’Neill’s trading was allegedly quantitatively unsuitable as his frequent trades hampered the customer’s ability to generate a profit. The Complaint refers to O’Neill causing the customer’s account to contain an annualized cost-to-equity ratio of 63.7 percent and an annualized turnover rate of 51.4 as it pertained to his 456 trades in the customer’s account. Those transactions involved $22,900,000.00 in principal value according to FINRA. O’Neill allegedly did not calculate the customer’s annualized turnover rates or cost-to-equity ratios, and he did not consider the interest associated with margin use.
The regulator stated that $147,411.00 in losses had been incurred in the customer’s account, and $140,109.00 in costs were paid by the customer. The stockbroker allegedly took in at least $66,000.00 of those commissions or gross sales credits. FINRA Department of Enforcement alleges that O’Neill violated FINRA Rules 2010 and 2111.
The Complaint also alleges that O’Neill effected trades on an unauthorized basis. The regulator pointed out 183 trades that O’Neill potentially executed without getting pre-trade confirmation from the customer. Department of Enforcement alleges that the stockbroker violated FINRA Rule 2010 for this reason.
O’Neill has been identified in three customer initiated investment related disputes concerning allegations of his wrongful actions when associated with Aegis Capital Corp. FINRA Public Disclosure shows that a customer initiated investment related complaint concerning O’Neill’s conduct was resolved for $12,500.00 in damages based upon accusations of margin misuse and unauthorized trading in the customer’s account when O’Neill was associated with Aegis Capital Corp.
On February 3, 2021, a customer filed an investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim involving O’Neill’s activities in which the customer requested compensatory damages founded on allegations of unsuitable securities transactions at Aegis Capital Corp. FINRA Arbitration No. 21-00273.
O’Neill was registered with Aegis Capital Corp between April 23, 2013 and July 29, 2021.
