Broker Investigation: Fuad Ahmed

Fuad Ahmed (CRD#: 2404244) was previously registered with FINRA as a securities broker. Most recently, Mr. Ahmed was the owner and manager of Success Trade Securities (1999-2015), a broker-dealer based out of an office in Washington, DC. Notably, success Trade Securities has now been expelled from the securities industry.

In addition to his firm being expelled, and following a string of very serious of customer complaints, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has also permanently barred Fuad Ahmed from the securities industry. Recently, Mr. Ahmed was ordered to pay $13.6 million in financial restitution to investors.

The Allegations Against Fuad Ahmed

All information contained in this article comes directly from the National Adjudicatory Council (NAC) Decision in the case against Fuad Ahmed and Success Trade Securities (Complaint No. 2012034211301)

Background

In 1998, Fuad Ahmed formed Success Trade Securities. Until 2015, Mr. Ahmed owned and managed this company. This company marketed itself to the public as an ‘online discount securities broker’, and it operated under the trade names “Just2Trade.com” and “LowTrades.com”. Notably, this company started experiencing significant financial problems several years ago. For example, in 2008, Success Trade Securities posted a $630,000 net loss.

Unregistered Securities Offering

Between 2009 and 2013, Mr. Ahmed and other representatives associated with Success Trade Securities sold more than 152 promissory notes to at least 65 different investors. In total, these promissory notes were valued at nearly $20 million.

Notably, these promissory notes were unregistered securities. Mr. Ahmed personally guaranteed all of these promissory notes. FINRA contends that Mr. Ahmed and his company did not go through the proper protocols to legally sell these unregistered securities to investors.

Securities Fraud

The NAC Decision indicates that Mr. Ahmed and Success Trade Securities misrepresented and omitted material facts when offering securities to investors. For example, investigators believe that this company substantially misrepresented how it planned to use the money it was raising from the securities offering.

Investors were informed that 40 percent would go advertising, 30 percent to buy out shareholders, and 22 percent to upgrade technology. In reality, more than half of the money could not be accounted for, and very little went to the stated purposes.

Additionally, Mr. Ahmed was able to convince investors to extend the terms of the promissory notes by providing them with wholly false information. When the promissory notes expired in 2012, the company was in dismal financial shape.

To keep investors engaged in the fraud scheme, Mr. Ahmed substantially misrepresented the value of the assets that were held by the company. As a result of the promissory note fraud, Fuad Ahmed faces several sanctions, including:

• A permanent bar from the securities industry;
• Expulsion of his company from the securities industry; and
• Payment of $13,684,105.19 in financial restitution to affected investors.

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