FINRA Bars Success Trade Securities By: Brenda Hamilton Attorney
This month Success Trade Securities was ordered to pay $13.7 million in restitution and expelled by a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) hearing panel. Success Trade Securities allegedly ran a Ponzi scheme targeting professional athletes. FINRA claimed that many of the athletes that invested were financially inexperienced and included Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Knight, and Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden.
The FINRA hearing panel also barred Fuad Ahemd, Success’ President and CEO, from association with a FINRA member firm.
Success and Ahmed were jointly and severally ordered to pay $13.7 million in restitution to 59 investors.
In April of 2013, FINRA filed a complaint against Success and Ahmed alleging fraudulent sales of $19.4 million of promissory notes. According to the FINRA hearing panel’s decision, the offering materials omitted material facts including that would have shown that Success Trade was financially distressed and suffered consistent losses.
According to FINRA, Success and Ahmed misrepresented that the proceeds from its promissory note offering would be used for Success Trade’s business operations despite that the funds were used to make unsecured personal loans to Ahmed and to make interest payments to earlier investors. FINRA also stated that Ahmed misrepresented that its businesses were thriving and an acquisition of an Australian company for $15 million was pending. Other misrepresentations including that the Company would soon be listed on a European exchange.
For further information about this securities law blog post, please contact Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney at 101 Plaza Real S, Suite 202 N, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 416-8956, by email at [email protected] or visit www.securitieslawyer101.com. This securities law blog post is provided as a general informational service to clients and friends of Hamilton & Associates Law Group and should not be construed as, and does not constitute, legal and compliance advice on any specific matter, nor does this message create an attorney-client relationship. For more information about going public and the rules and regulations affecting the use of Rule 144, Form 8K, crowdfunding, FINRA Rule 6490, Rule 506 private placement offerings and memorandums, Regulation A, Rule 504 offerings, SEC reporting requirements, SEC registration statements on Form S-1 , IPO’s, OTC Pink Sheet listings, Form 10 OTCBB and OTC Markets disclosure requirements, DTC Chills, Global Locks, reverse mergers, public shells, direct public offerings and direct public offerings please contact Hamilton and Associates at (561) 416-8956 or [email protected]. Please note that the prior results discussed herein do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Hamilton & Associates | Securities Lawyers
Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney
101 Plaza Real South, Suite 202 North
Boca Raton, Florida 33432
Telephone: (561) 416-8956
Facsimile: (561) 416-2855
www.SecuritiesLawyer101.com
