Ex-NYSE Floor Broker Settles Trading Case

A former New York Stock Exchange floor broker accused of executing his own trades before his customers’ has settled the civil case with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency said. Ex-broker John D’Alessio finalized a settlement with the SEC on Tuesday, a day before his trial was to begin in New York federal court. The settlement was approved by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff. D’Alessio did not admit liability in the settlement, his lawyer, Dominic Amorosa, said. Under its terms, D’Alessio will forfeit $200,000 in trading profits, and he agreed that he would commit no further trading violations. D’Alessio settled charges that he defrauded customers by “front-running”--trading for his own account ahead of the customer, Amorosa said. In addition, D’Alessio, who has been permanently banned from the NYSE trading floor, was accused of illegal “flipping”--trading in stock accounts in which he had an interest ahead of customers and profiting from those trades, Amorosa said.