The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged former JP Turner and Company broker Ralph Calabro for churning client accounts with conservative investment objectives. Mr. Calabro's churning activity caused severe losses for clients, while he collected hefty fees. He served as a registered representative of the Parlin, NJ branch office from March 2004 until January 2007, and he is currently a registered representative at National Securities Corp.

Churning is a fraudulent practice in which brokers ignore their clients' investment objectives and engage in excessive trading for the purpose of generating commissions. The SEC alleged that between January 2008 and December 2009, Mr. Calabro churned three client accounts, which suffered approximate losses of $2.3 million. The SEC said that the trading in the accounts were excessive in light of Mr. Calabro's customers' objectives, experience, age, and needs. Mr. Calabro split commissions, fees, and margin interest totaling $845,000.00 with two other brokers accused by the SEC for churning client accounts at JP Turner. An administrative proceeding by the SEC against Mr. Calabro is currently pending.

Broker-dealers must establish and implement a reasonable supervisory system to protect customers from churning and similar abuses. If broker-dealers do not establish a reasonable supervisory system, they may be liable to investors for damages. In the case of JP Turner, the SEC found that adequate procedures were not implemented to detect and prevent churning. Therefore, investors who have suffered damages can bring forth claims to recover losses against JP Turner due to Mr. Calabro's churning.

Have you suffered losses as a result of Ralph Calabro's churning? Did you have an actively traded account with Mr. Calabro that the SEC did not review? If so, call Robert Pearce at the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. for a free consultation.

The most important of investors' rights is the right to be informed! This Investors' Rights blog post is by the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., located in Boca Raton, Florida. For over 30 years, Attorney Pearce has tried, arbitrated, and mediated hundreds of disputes involving complex securities, commodities and investment law issues. The lawyers at our law firm are devoted to protecting investors' rights throughout the United States and internationally! Please visit our website, www.secatty.com, post a comment, call (800) 732-2889, or email Mr. Pearce at pearce@rwpearce.com for answers to any of your questions about this blog post and/or any related matter.