Nico Joseph Rutella of Castle Rock, Colorado, a stockbroker formerly registered with National Securities Corp, was the subject of a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim which settled for $20,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that Rutella made omissions and misrepresentations, breached a fiduciary duty, acted negligently, and made unsuitable transactions with regard to the recommendation and sale of equities when Rutella was associated with National Securities Corp. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Arbitration No. 19-00545 (May 11, 2021).
Public Disclosure shows that Rutella has been fined $5,000.00 and suspended for four months from associating with any FINRA member in any capacity because he recommended unsuitable and excessive transactions during the time that he was associated with Joseph Stone Capital LLC. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2020066888101 (December 23, 2020).
According to the AWC, between January 2017 and April 2018, Rutella unsuitably and excessively traded in a Joseph Stone Capital LLC customer’s account. Specifically, during the sixteen months the customer’s account was open, Rutella recommended more than 140 transactions. He would often advise the customer to purchase a security, sell it, and re-purchase it a few weeks later. These transactions caused the customer to pay $700.00 in markups and commissions but realize a loss of over $1,000.00. Rutella’s recommendations caused the customer to pay $23,516.00 in commissions, which resulted in an annualized cost-to-equity ratio of over 44%. Rutella violated FINRA Rules 2010 and 2111 as a result.
Rutella was associated with Richfield Orion International from 2018 to 2019, Joseph Stone Capital LLC from 2016 to 2018, and National Securities Corp from 2013 to 2016.
