Pratul Victor Agnihotri (also known as Pratol Victor Agnihotri) of Melville New York a stockbroker formerly registered with Aegis Capital Corp. and Spartan Capital Securities LLC has been fined $7,500.00 and suspended for twelve months from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity supported by findings that Agnihotri engaged in outside business activities without authorization and had used a customer’s funds improperly. Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent No. 2019061440201 (Oct. 14, 2020).
According to the AWC, between February of 2015 and January of 2019, during the time that Agnihotri was employed by Aegis Capital Corporation and Spartan Capital Securities, he created and became the Chief Executive Officer of Exergizer. Agnihotri was required to disclose Exergizer to Aegis Capital Corporation before engaging in outside activities since he was an executive for the company. FINRA stated that the stockbroker failed to be forthcoming on annual compliance attestations administered to him by Aegis Capital Corporation. In 2015 and in 2016, Agnihotri told the securities broker dealer that he had not maintained outside business activities.
Agnihotri also violated Spartan Capital Securities’ rules on outside business activities. He was only allowed to engage in those types of activities at Spartan if he received approval from the securities broker dealer. Spartan was never made aware of Exergizer. FINRA found that Agnihotri’s activities were violative of FINRA Rules 2010 and 3270.
FINRA also indicated that Agnihotri misused a customer’s funds. The AWC stated that customer RG provided Agnihotri $8,000.00 to be used for Exergizer. RG was not provided information about how funds would be used for Exergizer. The customer was led by Agnihotri to believe that funds would be used for business expenses but there was no information relating to these expenses backing up the stockbroker’s representations. The AWC stated that Agnihotri deposited the customers’ funds and then used those funds in a way that RG disagreed with. FINRA found that Agnihotri’s use of the customer’s funds was violative of FINRA Rules 2010 and 2150.
Agnihotri has been identified in three customer initiated investment related disputes containing allegations of his improper conduct while employed by Aegis Capital Corporation and JP Turner Company. FINRA Public Disclosure reveals that a customer initiated investment related complaint concerning Agnihotri’s activities was resolved for $7,300.00 in damages founded on accusations of unauthorized trading. Another customer filed an investment related complaint involving Agnihotri’s conduct in which the customer sought more than $5,000.00 in damages based upon allegations of excessive commissions and unauthorized trading by Agnihotri.
Agnihotri is also the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim where the customer requested $650,000.00 in damages supported by accusations that a fiduciary duty that was owed to the customer had been breached and that Agnihotri’s negligence with respect to a private securities transaction had resulted in the customer’s loses. FINRA Arbitration No. 19-02787. The claim alleges that the customer’s instructions had not been followed by Agnihotri and that trades were executed in the customer’s account without authorization.
Agnihotri has also been registered with SW Financial between July 11, 2019 and October 30, 2020.
