Securities Fraud Lawyer Blog
Terry Bahgat who was barred by FINRA in March, 2017, has now been sued by the SEC.
In March, 2017 FINRA barred former Cambridge Investment Research and Gradient Securities broker Terry Bahgat, aka Tarek Bahgat for refusing to cooperate with a FINRA investigation. On September 29, 2017 the SEC filed fraud charges against Terry Bahgat alleging that he siphoned money out of seven elderly client accounts and directed the money to a company he controlled before fleeing to Egypt in 2016.
Bahgat’s FINRA ban was for avoiding his obligations to provide information and respond to FINRA regulators when conducting investigations.
FINRA Rule 9552. Failure to Provide Information or Keep Information Current
This FINRA rule provides if a FINRA member fails to provide information or testimony requested or required by FINRA’s By-Laws or FINRA rules, or fails to keep his or her membership and supporting documents current, FINRA, after providing 21 days’ notice may suspend the FINRA membership of the person. If the suspension is not challenged within 90 days, FINRA may bar the individual. Bahgat failed to challenge the suspension, which lead to a permanent bar.
Registration and disciplinary history
Tarek Bahgat aka Terry Bahgat had a 30 year career in the securities industry, and was registered with 15 different firms.
In order to lawfully sell investments to the public, a registered rep must either be registered or exempt from registration. Terry Bahgat is no longer registered, but in the past six years he was registered with:
Cambridge Investment Research from October, 2010 to August, 2015
Gradient Securities from July, 2015 to October, 2016
According to FINRA’s CRD disclosure report, Terry Bahgat has been the subject of three customer complaints and one regulatory investigation.
The Law Office of David Liebrader practices exclusively in the field of investment loss recovery. For the past 23 years, we have dedicated our law practice to assisting investors who have been victims of investment fraud via fraudulent and unsuitable investment transactions. During that time we have recovered money for over one thousand individuals, pension plans, trusts and companies. The recoveries we have obtained via judgments, awards and settlements on behalf of our clients exceed $40,000,000.
When investors contact our firm they can expect prompt attention, and a detailed analysis of their issues. Typical claims that we are asked to review involve “unsuitability (where a financial advisor makes investment recommendations that are inconsistent with a customer’s investment objectives), claims for “churning” (where a broker enters into an excessive number of trades for the purpose of generating commissions), claims involving illiquid investments such as private placements (I.e., real estate investment trusts, limited partnerships, equipment leasing and oil and gas drilling programs) as well as claims for violations of state securities laws, which often provide investors remedies like attorney’s fees and interest, if they are successful on the claim.
If you suspect that you have been the victim of investment fraud, or had a financial advisor recommend unsuitable investments to you, call us today for a free, confidential consultation at (702) 380-3131.