According to an Investment News report, JHS Capital Advisors Inc. and a former broker were hit with a $1.9 million Finra arbitration award last week stemming from allegations that the broker traded in a client’s account excessively to generate commissions.

JHS Capital Advisors is owned by a holding company controlled by John Sykes, who made his fortune investing in call centers before entering the independent broker-dealer industry with the purchase of preferred shares of GunnAllen Holdings Inc. in 2008.

He later resigned from the board of GunnAllen. His firm, JHS Capital Holdings Ltd., then bought Pointe Capital Inc. in 2009 and renamed the broker-dealer JHS Capital Advisors.

According to the arbitration award, which was decided by a three-person Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. panel, the investor originally claimed $3.1 million in compensatory damages, alleging excessive trading and churning, common law fraud, gross negligence and other violations.

As is customary, the arbitration panel did not give any explanation for its decision, which awarded the investor $1.5 million in compensatory damages plus interest, $100,000 in punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees of $93,000.  It is unclear at this time whether JHS Capital Advisors will attempt to appeal the award.

The foregoing information is provided by The White Law Group.  The White Law Group is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration and investor protection law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.  The firm represents investors in claims against their brokerage firm.

For more information on The White Law Group, visit https://whitesecuritieslaw.com.