SEC Charges Two Brokers With Defrauding Customers

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged two brokers for recommending excessive levels of trading that were costly for retail customers but lucrative for the brokers. In separate complaints filed in federal court in Manhattan on Friday, the SEC alleges that Florida resident Emil Botvinnik and New York resident Jovannie Aquino recommended frequent, short-term trades that generated large commissions for the brokers but were almost guaranteed to lose money for their customers. According to the SEC’s complaints, Botvinnik’s and Aquino’s customers – a number of whom were at or near retirement age – lost approximately $3.6 million as a result of the trades while the brokers pocketed approximately $4.6 million in commissions.