Ross Barish

SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Broker Charged with Defrauding Customers

Litigation Release No. 25467 / August 15, 2022

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ross Barish, No. 20-cv-6437 (S.D.N.Y. filed August 13, 2020)

On August 10, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a final judgment against defendant Ross Barish, a registered representative at a broker-dealer located in Mineola, New York, whom the SEC previously charged with defrauding retail customers that resulted in over $800,000 in losses.

The SEC's complaint was filed on August 13, 2020, in federal district court in New York, New York. The complaint alleged that Barish engaged in a high-cost, in-and-out trading strategy in customer accounts without conducting reasonable due diligence to determine whether the trading strategy could deliver even a minimal profit for his customers. According to the complaint, Barish also engaged in widespread unauthorized trading in customer accounts. As alleged in the complaint, Barish's strategy resulted in over $800,000 in losses to customers, while netting Barish and his firm over $400,000 in commissions.

Barish consented to entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and ordering him to pay disgorgement in the amount of $171,150.63, prejudgment interest thereon in the amount of $16,683.20, and a civil penalty in the amount of $171,150.63, for a total of $358,984.46.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by David Stoelting, Roseann Daniello, Ricky Tong, Michael Fioribello, and Sandeep Satwalekar, and was supervised by Sheldon L. Pollock and Sanjay Wadhwa. The SEC's litigation was led by Mr. Stoelting and Lee A. Greenwood. The examination that led to the investigation was conducted by the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations' Risk Analysis Examination Team.