The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ruled that Paul George Chironis, from Melville, Long Island, had defrauded the Sisters of Charity. The New York broker will pay $350,000 to the elderly nuns in the Bronx.

In April 2010 the SEC investigated Chironis. They found that he ‘churned’ the brokerage accounts of the Sister of Charity order.

The found Chironis to be involved in the practice of “abusive trading patterns”. Chironis engaged in excessive trading to inflate commissions and other revenues ignoring customers’ instructions and objectives.

The SEC found “that he churned two accounts owned by the Sisters of Charity – one account with money for care of nuns in assisted-living facilities and a second account to support charitable endeavors”.

According to the Daily Mail Chironis included transaction fees of over ten percent. George Canellos of SEC's New York regional office said “virtually guaranteed the convent's accounts would lose money due to the undisclosed and excessive costs being incurred, while Chironis focused on generating substantial commissions for himself”.  

Over 13-months the Sisters of Charity paid approximately 10.8 percent of their value in transaction fees to Chironis.

Chironis refused to admit or deny his guilt but agreed to pay the $350,000 to the Sisters. He is also barred from the United States securities industry. In the past Chironis was affiliated with Capital Growth Financial, Inc, a Boca Raton, Florida-based firm.