Benjamin Chouchane, (CRD# 4590169) a former broker for LinkBrokers Derivatives Corp., a unit of London-based ICAP Plc (IAP), pleaded guilty to making millions of dollars by lying about the prices of securities bought and sold for clients as reported in a recent article in Bloomberg Businessweek.
Chouchane was arrested in October along with Marek Leszczynski (CRD# 3018771), another ex-LinkBrokers employee, and was charged by Manhattan prosecutors with scheming to commit securities and wire fraud. He pleaded guilty before a U.S. District Judge to one count of conspiracy. The prosecutors said that Chouchane, Leszczynski, and others misrepresented the prices at which securities were bought and sold, earning their employer illegal profits and bonuses for themselves.
Chouchane was indicted with Leszczynski in December on two counts of conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud and one count of securities fraud. A third man, Henry Condron (CRD# 4231972), pleaded guilty in October to being part of the scheme.
Court records show Chouchane also agreed to forfeit $5 million earned as proceeds traceable to his crime. Sentencing will be Oct. 24. Chouchane faces a possible five-year prison term.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged in a suit filed in October that the three men and a fourth former LinkBrokers employee, Gregory Reyftmann (CRD# 4645588), illegally took $18.7 million from customers by reporting fake execution prices on more than 36,000 transactions over four years according to the Bloomberg article.
FINRA records show the men all worked for LinkBrokers.
The following appeared on FINRA's BrokerCheck:
Broker Benjamin Chouchane was previously registered with FINRA at the following brokerage firms:
LOUIS CAPITAL MARKETS, LP
CRD# 48013
NEW YORK, NY
04/2011 - 10/2012
LINKBROKERS DERIVATIVES CORPORATION
CRD# 123000
JERSEY CITY, NJ
02/2005 - 01/2011
REFCO SECURITIES, LLC
CRD# 14094
NEW YORK, NY
12/2002 - 02/2005
Broker Marek Leszczynski was previously registered with FINRA at the following brokerage firms:
MADISON CAPITAL MARKETS, INC.
CRD# 139515
MIAMI, FL
04/2011 - 10/2012
LINKBROKERS DERIVATIVES CORPORATION
CRD# 123000
JERSEY CITY, NJ
10/2005 - 12/2010
If you experienced a financial loss due to any of the above brokers with LinkBrokers Derivatives Corp, call Soreide Law Group for a free consultation with an attorney on how to potentially recovery your investment at: 888-760-6552.
Soreide Law Group is investigating potential investor claims involving sales practice violations by securities brokers and financial advisors related specifically to Next Level Holdings LLC and its affiliated Yield Wealth investment products. These offerings—including Next Level Notes and Yield Term Deposits—were promoted as high-yield, income-generating investments with purported principal protection. However, significant adverse information has […]
Investors have reportedly disputed the sales practices of securities broker David Robert McCain [CRD: 2039283, Johnson City, Tennessee], given the disclosures on Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck. McCain worked for Woodbury Financial Services Inc. from September 4, 2009, to January 19, 2024, Osaic Wealth Inc. from January 19, 2024, to August 22, 2024, and […]
Investors apparently complained about securities broker Ian Christopher McElreath [CRD: 4754189, Atlanta, Georgia], according to publicly available information found on Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck. McElreath worked for Ameritas Investment Company LLC from November 26, 2019, to April 6, 2021; 20/20 Capital Management, Inc from January 17, 2020, to April 20, 2021; Emerson Equity […]
Phone:
Fax: 1-954-760-6553
Email: info@securitieslawyer.com