William Athas Investigation
May 2022-Melville, New York
The FINRA records of William N. Athas, a former stock broker who was last employed in the industry by SW Financial , disclose a regulatory matter, one pending customer dispute and 8 prior customer disputes.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the agency that licenses and regulates stockbrokers and brokerage firms. FINRA requires brokers and brokerage firms to report customer complaints and disputes as well as regulatory sanctions. In addition brokers are required to disclose certain financial matters such as personal bankruptcies, judgments and liens.
FINRA records disclose that William N. Athas was permanently barred from the securities industry by FINRA in 1/2022 for allegations that he willfully violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and violated FINRA rule 2020 by churning customer accounts. According to FINRA Athas deliberately incurred unreasonably high trading costs, which made it virtually impossible for the accounts to be profitable. His customers paid commissions of $1.6M, causing losses of $1.1M, per FINRA. Athas was employed by K.C. Ward and Worden Capital Management during the time of the alleged wrongdoing.
From January of 2004 until February of 2017, six customer disputes were filed by customers of Athas with allegations including, but not limited to: unsuitable investments, negligence, gross negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, misrepresentations and omissions, violations of industry standards and conduct regarding: churning, unauthorized use of discretion, excessive trading, unauthorized use of margin, duty of good faith and far dealing, equitable principles of trade, use of manipulative, deceptive or fraudulent devices or contrivances. The cases were settled for the combined amount of $134,506.
In currently pending FINRA case 20-01315 a customer of Worden Capital Management seeks damages in excess of $84,900 and alleges unsuitable trading, common law fraud, churning, breach of contract, negligent supervision and breach of fiduciary duty.
Athas was employed by SW Financial from 8/2020 until 12/2021. He was employed with Worden Capital Management from 7/2016 to 8/2020, K.C. Ward Financial from 12/2014 to 8/2016, Securities America from June to December of 2014.
If you have losses in an account handled by William N. Athas call to learn how you may be entitled to collect damages through FINRA arbitration.
Rex Securities Law , with offices in Boca Raton, FL, and Austin, TX, provides representation to investors nationwide who are seeking recovery of investment losses due to the negligence or fraud of stockbrokers and broker dealers. If you have questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney.
Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.
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