Financial Advisor Anthony Sica (Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC.) Customer Complaints

• April 10, 2020
• Joseph Gunnar & Co

Anthony Sica (CRD # 1332626) is a Financial Advisor at Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC. Anthony Sica has been in the securities industry since 1985 and previously worked for a number of brokerage firms, including Wachovia Securities and Prudential Securities.

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Anthony Sica has nine customer complaint disclosures reflected on his BrokerCheck report, including one pending complaint. Anthony Sica also has three regulatory infractions. Among the customer complaint disclosures include the following:

• February 2020—”CLAIMANT ALLEGES UNSUITABLE INVESTMENTS, NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION, AND RELATED CAUSES IN CONNECTION WITH CERTAIN PRIVATE PLACEMENTS MADE DURING THE PERIOD 9/27/2011 – 8/28/2014.” Alleged damages are $750,000 and the matter remains pending.
• December 2013—”LETTER RECEIVED ALLEGING UNSUITABILITY, FREQUENT TRADING, UNAUTHORIZED TRADING AND KYC CUSTOMER RULES DURING THE PERIOD FROM 2009 THROUGH 2013.” The matter was settled for $302,500.
• March 2010—”POOR PERFORMANCE, MISMANAGEMENT AND UNSUITABLE INVESTMENTS.” The matter was settled for $157,500.
• December 2001—”CUSTOMER ALLEGED UNSUITABILITY OF PURCHASE OF SUNBEAM STOCK AND CERTAIN REIT STOCKS.” The matter was settled for $18,000.
• March 1993—”CUSTOMER QUESTIONED THE AUTHORITY OF ITS OWN ADMINISTRATIVE ACCOUNTANT TO AUTHORIZED TRANSACTIONS IN ONE OF THE [CUSTOMER] ENDOMENT ACCOUNTS AND CLAIMED DAMAGED OF $43,415.” The matter was settled for $26,000.

In addition, Anthony Sica has three regulatory infractions reflected on his BrokerCheck. In 2018, the Maryland Securities Commissioner entered into a consent order with Anthony Sica, which resulted in him withdrawing his registration from the state. In 2017, FINRA sanctioned Anthony Sica for overconcentrating customer accounts. Specifically, the FINRA sanction stated:
“Without admitting or denying the findings, Sica consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he made unsuitable recommendations to an elderly customer living on a fixed income. The findings stated that Sica repeatedly recommended that the customer purchase high-risk, speculative securities that were inconsistent with her investment profile. Sica’s recommendations often resulted in an undue concentration of the customer’s account, which represented substantially all of her liquid assets, in speculative securities. Further, Sica often engaged in short-term in-and-out trading of the speculative investments in the customer’s accounts causing substantial losses. Sica’s recommendations resulted in losses of more than $150,000. The findings also stated that Sica engaged in unauthorized trading by placing trades in the IRA accounts of a customer who Sica knew was deceased causing aggregated losses on the trades totaling approximately $3,039.”

For a copy of the FINRA sanction, click https://www.finra.org/sites/default/files/fda_documents/2013039507101%20Anthony%20Sica%20CRD%201332626%20AWC%20Redacted%20sl%20%282019-1563311960082%29.pdf

In 1994, Anthony Sica was sanctioned by the Missouri Securities Division for allegatioons of “dishonest or unethical practice.”

For a copy of Anthony Sica’s CRD, click https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/1332626#disclosuresSection.

Financial advisors have a legal and regulatory obligation to recommend only suitable investments that are appropriate for their clients’ needs and objectives. Their employing brokerage firm has a legal and regulatory obligation to supervise the Financial Advisors’ sales practices and dealings with clients. To the extent any of these duties are breached, the customer may be entitled to a recovery of his or her investment losses.

The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration on a contingency fee basis. Matt Wolper, the Managing Principal of the Wolper Law Firm, P.A., is a trial lawyer who has handled hundreds of securities cases during his career involving a wide range of products, strategies and securities. Prior to representing investors, he was a partner with a national law firm, where he represented some of the largest banks and brokerage firms in the world in securities matters. We can be reached at 800.931.8452 or by email at mwolper@wolperlawfirm.com.