Red Bull-Fed Brokers Stand as John Thomas Draws Scrutiny

Nicholas Gwiazda, 24, saw his ticket to Wall Street in a Craigslist ad for a junior broker job at John Thomas Financial Inc.

After a September interview and tour of the firm’s marble-floored offices across the street from the New York Stock Exchange, he was given a phone and told to call strangers across the country, advising them that a senior broker would follow up in a week with a good investing idea. He said he was told he could make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year after passing licensing exams.