AEGIS CAPITAL CORP & WILLIAM J CARLTON Lawsuit Filed

Soreide Law Group has filed a FINRA arbitration on behalf of our client (Claimant) against,

AEGIS CAPITAL CORP.  and their registered representative, WILLIAM J CARLTON (Respondents).

The Claimant is in his 80s, retired, and living in South Florida. The lawsuit alleges negligence, misrepresentations, and breach of fiduciary duty, of AEGIS CAPITAL CORP and their registered representative, WILLIAM J CARLTON.

The lawsuit alleges that on or about October of 2024, the Claimant’s risk tolerance was changed on his accounts to “aggressive growth/maximum risk.”  Several high risk investments were purchased including American Bitcoin, Bitmine Immersion, Mara, Cleanspark, UPEXI (penny stock), Kindly (penny stock) to name a few. The lawsuit alleges that these collective positions have caused the Claimant losses of over $220,000 while the Respondents received generous commission in the form of mark-ups and mark-downs that allegedly were not disclosed to the Claimant. The lawsuit states that the Claimant is not a speculator, does not have the capacity to decide for himself, and did not approve the majority of these transactions.

The lawsuit alleges that the Respondents, AEGIS CAPITAL CORP.  and their registered representative, WILLIAM J CARLTON’s actions have caused the Claimant out of pocket damage of approximately $220,000.00, with allegations of negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligent supervision.

Carlton has been registered with AEGIS CAPITAL CORP. of Melville, New York, since 12/21/2023.  From 09/21/2007 - 01/12/2024, WILLIAM J CARLTON was registered both as a broker and as an investment advisor with UBS FINANCIAL SERVICES INC of McLean, Virginia.

According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, available to the public on FINRA’s website, WILLIAM J CARLTON has 42 years of experience in the securities industry and has been listed with 7 firms. Carlton has 12 disclosures on his FINRA CRD report. Of the 12 disclosures on Carlton’s CRD report, 9 are “Customer Disputes,” 8 have settled and 1 is pending. The significance of Carlton’s disclosures is underscored in FINRA NOTICE to MEMBERS 03-49. FINRA conducted a review of the CRD’s of all registered representatives, only .41% had been the subject of 3 or more customer complaints. In other words, WILLIAM J CARLTON’s customer complaints rank him in the top one-hundredth percent of all registered representatives for customer complaints. 

On 12/14/2023 there is an “Employment Separation after Allegations” listed on Carlton’s FINRA CRD report discharging WILLIAM J CARLTON from UBS FINANCIAL SERVICES INC with allegations of, “Employee was discharged for loss of confidence after he violated firm policy by soliciting leveraged ETFs and mismarking trades as unsolicited.”  Carlton denies any wrongdoing.

To discuss this article or any other securities issues, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer at no cost:  888-760-6552.

Soreide Law Group represents our clients nationwide before FINRA on a contingency fee basis.