Steven Suoseff Barred by SEC Following Civil Action

Steven Susoeff (CRD #: 2885186), a broker formerly registered with LPL Financial, has been barred by the SEC, according to his BrokerCheck record, accessed on March 10, 2025. Keep reading to learn more about his alleged conduct as a broker.

SEC Regulatory Action

On December 30, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a regulatory action against Steven Susoeff, in response to a final judgment entered by consent against him on December 23, 2024.

In that civil action, the SEC alleged that Steven Susoeff and his company Steve Susoeff, LLC (dba Meritage Financial Group) engaged in a fraudulent cherry picking scheme by disproportionately allocating favorable trades to certain accounts and unfavorable trades to other clients.

The favored accounts allegedly belonged to Steven Susoeff, his girlfriend, and a friend, and allegedly experienced first day positive returns on these favorable trades while other accounts experienced negative first day returns on their trades.

Judgment in this civil suit enjoined Steven Susoeff from violations of Sections 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

In its regulatory action, the SEC permanently barred Steven Suoseff.

Securities Act of 1933

Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 prohibits the use of deceptive and fraudulent schemes in the securities business. It specifically bans false or misleading statements and the omission of material facts relating to securities.

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 forbids the use of manipulative or deceptive devices in relation to the purchase or sale of securities. Rule 10b-5 extends this to include fraudulent schemes, untrue statements and omissions of fact.

Investment Advisers Act of 1940

Sections 206(1) and (2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 forbid the use of fraudulent and deceptive schemes or practices.

Sanctions

On December 30, 2024, the SEC permanently barred Steven Suoseff from associating with the following, with the right to reapply to the SEC after five years:

• Investment advisers
• Brokers
• Dealers
• Municipal securities dealers
• Municipal advisers
• Transfer agents
• Nationally recognized statistical ratings organizations (NRSRO)

SEC Civil Action

On February 1, 2023, the SEC filed a civil suit against Steven Suoseff, alleging that he and his investment adviser firm Meritage Financial engaged in a fraudulent cherry picking scheme.

The SEC alleged that, during an approximate time period of January 2021 to July 2021, Meritage Financial managed approximately $8 million for approximately 59 clients, over whose accounts Steven Suoseff had discretionary authority.

He allegedly executed trades for clients in a block trading account, allowing him to execute trades on several clients’ behalf and then allocate those trades to individual clients.

Steven Suoseff allegedly disproportionately allocated winning trades to his own account and to accounts belonging to his girlfriend and a business associate, and allocated losing trades to client accounts.

According to the SEC, a brokerage firm with custody of these clients’ accounts, Broker A, allegedly warned Steven Suoseff that he needed to have procedures in place designed to ensure the fair and equitable allocation of trades.

Steven Suoseff allegedly continued his scheme, obtaining approximately $54,232 for his own account and approximately $90,334 for his girlfriend and business associate.

The disfavored accounts allegedly suffered approximately $144,566 in first-day losses in connection with this scheme. The SEC alleged that Steven Suoseff’s cherry picking ended when Broker A removed him and Meritage Financial from its trading platform.

The SEC alleged that Steven Suoseff Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder, Sections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

Background Information

Steven Susoeff has passed the following exams:

• General Securities Representative Examination – Series 7
• Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Representative Examination – Series 6
• Uniform Combined State Law Examination – Series 66
• Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination – Series 63

In the past, he worked for the following firms:

• LPL Financial (CRD#:6413)
• WM Financial Services (CRD#:599)
• Great Western Financial Securities (CRD#:14229)

Kurta Law Can Help

If you worked with Steven Susoeff and you have concerns about your investments, please contact us today at 877-600-0098 or info@kurtalawfirm.com for a free consultation.

For over 20 years, Kurta Law has advocated on behalf of investors who want to recover their investment losses from brokers and brokerage firms. Kurta Law is a nationally recognized law firm that exclusively represents investors against brokers and brokerage firms on a contingency basis. This means that the firm only earns a fee if our securities attorneys recover money on your behalf.