The SEC charged two brokers, Gregory Dean and Donald Fowler, with violations of securities laws for a fraudulent excessive-trading scheme designed to profit themselves at the expense of their clients. The SEC accused Dean and Fowler of using a “high-cost trading strategy consisting of the excessive buying and selling of stocks” that led to “enormous losses” for customers but profited them through “substantial commissions and other fees.”

The complaint, which was filed by the SEC in New York district court, states that Dean and Fowler used this strategy in twenty-seven client accounts while registered at J.D. Nicholas & Associates Inc., a broker-dealer no longer in business that was based in Syosset, New York, without “having a reasonable basis for believing the strategy was suitable for anyone.” The SEC claims the two churned three of those twenty-seven accounts.

“This case marks another chapter in the SEC’s pursuit of brokers who deploy excessive trading as a strategy in customer accounts to enrich themselves at customers’ expense,” stated Andrew Calamari, director of the SEC’s New York regional office. “The allegations in our complaint are based on our examination of trading patterns across more than two dozen customer accounts, and this trading data show that only the brokers stood to profit from this cost-laden in-and-out strategy.”

Gregory Dean and Donald Fowler were registered with J.D. Nicholas for seven years, through 2014. Both have since been registered with Worden Capital Management, based in Garden City, New York. Dean and Fowler have each had several customer complaints filed against them, according to their FINRA BrokerCheck reports. Dean’s record includes nine customer complaints and Fowler’s has eleven.

If you or someone you know has lost money as a result of an investment or Ponzi scheme, please contact Richard Frankowski at 888-741-7503 to discuss your potential legal remedies or complete the contact form.