According to publicly available information via FINRA BrokerCheck, dually registered stockbroker and investment adviser, Thomas Duggan (CRD# 2757615), has been named or otherwise involved in two pending securities arbitration proceedings before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Since 2016, Mr. Duggan has been affiliated with Aegis Capital Corp. (Aegis) in that firm’s Melville, NY branch office.

A long-time securities industry professional with nearly 25 years of financial services experience, Mr. Duggan first began working for Royce Investment Group, Inc. in 1996 and was subsequently affiliated with several other brokerage firms including Investec Ernst & Company and Maxim Financial Advisors. Since February 2016, he has been affiliated with Aegis. As of this writing, Mr. Duggan has been named or otherwise involved in three customer-initiated disputes, one of which resulted in a settlement.

With regard to the pending arbitrations, one dispute alleges “breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract [and] misrepresentation,” with the customer seeking $80,000 in damages. Further, the most recently filed arbitration alleges damages of $1,079,155 in connection with purported “unsuitability, common law fraud, gross negligence, breach of contract [and] elder abuse.” 

Applicable FINRA rules mandate that broker-dealers like Aegis, and by extension their affiliated financial advisors, must perform adequate due diligence on an investment before it is recommended to an investor. Furthermore, pursuant to FINRA Rule 2111 (Suitability) a financial advisor must perform a customer-specific suitability analysis in connection with the sale of an investment product to ensure that the investment is appropriate for a specific customer based on certain criteria, including that customer’s age, net worth and income, liquidity needs, experience with investing and level of sophistication, as well as the customer’s stated objectives and risk tolerance.

Moreover, under FINRA Rule 3110 (NASD Rule 3010), brokerage firms like Aegis must “establish and maintain a system to supervise the activities of each associated person that is reasonably designed to achieve compliance” with applicable FINRA rules, in addition to state and federal securities laws. It is critical for broker-dealers to not only establish such a supervisory system, but further to properly maintain their supervision, by among other things, periodically meeting with individual financial advisors to discuss the products they are selling and their sales methods, as well as to examine correspondence with customers. In instances where a customer suffers losses due to an inappropriate or unsuitable investment (or investment program), then the brokerage firm may be held liable for any failure to adequately supervise their employee.

The attorneys at Giarrusso Law Group LLC have extensive experience in working closely with investors to resolve all manner of issues concerning investment losses, including losses suffered due to negligence or misconduct by a financial advisor. Investors may pursue a claim to recover monies through securities arbitration before FINRA, or in some instances, through litigation. Investors who wish to discuss a possible claim may contact us by telephone at (201) 771-1115 or by email at info@gialawgroup.com for a no-cost, no-obligation, confidential consultation.