Gradient Securities

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating claims that Broker Nicholas Stovall (Stovall) has been accused by investors of engaging in fraudulent misappropriation of their funds. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), it appears that Stovall was employed by Gradient Securities, LLC at the time of the activity. If you have been a victim of Stovall’s alleged misconduct our firm may be able to assist you in recovering funds.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a final customer complaint on July 20, 2023.

Respondent recommended promissory notes issued by Premier Global Corporation\<char_lb_r>\, (PGC), Premier Factoring, LLC (PF-LLC) and/or Premier Factoring Group, LLC (PFG-LLC)\<char_lb_r>\, to six of his Minnesota investment advisory clients between 2018 and 2021 without\<char_lb_r>\, reasonable grounds to believe that the recommendations were suitable in violation of\<char_lb_r>\, Minn. Rule 2876.5023, subp. 1(A) (2023). These Minnesota investors then purchased over $1.1M in promissory notes from PFLLC,\<char_lb_r>\, PGC, and/or PFG-LLC between March of 2018 and May of 2021, incurring\<char_lb_r>\, substantial if not total losses in violation of Minn. Stat. 80A.69 \\u00a7 502(a)(2) (2024). Respondent failed to report these activities and the Premier Transactions to his\<char_lb_r>\, investment firm in violation of the Minnesota Securities Act and other matters\<char_lb_r>\, entrusted to the commissioner in violation of Minn. Stat. 45.027, subd. 7(2) (2024).Respondent failed to report these activities and the Premier Transactions to his\<char_lb_r>\, investment firm in violation of the Minnesota Securities Act and other matters\<char_lb_r>\, entrusted to the commissioner in violation of Minn. Stat. 45.027, subd. 7(2) (2024).

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently filed a complaint against former Gradient Securities, LLC (Gradient) and Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. (Cambridge) broker Terry Bahgat (Bahgat) working out of the Amherst, New York. The SEC alleged that from December 2014 through September 2016, Bahgat misappropriated funds seven different clients by obtaining access to their brokerage accounts and then transferring either to himself or WealthCFO – a company that Bahgat controlled. Bahgat operated his advisory business through WealthCFO Advisors, LLC and other firm WealthCFO Partners, LLC.

According to the SEC, in order to effectuate the fraud in some cases Bahgat had his assistant pose as his clients on telephone calls with the brokerage firms in order to obtain bill paying privileges. The SEC alleged that Bahgat’s scheme continued until September 2016 when he then fled the U.S. for Egypt. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) also barred Bahgat from the securities industry after he failed to respond to a request for information in January. The FINRA investigation involved a different questionable practice – whether Bahgat made misrepresentations in the sale of a variable annuity.

Bahgat entered the securities industry in 1986. From October 2010 until August 2015, Bahgat was associated with Cambridge. From July 2015 until October 2016, Bahgat was registered with Gradient.

Articles Tagged with Gradient Securities

There are Recent Customer Complaints with Broker Nicholas Stovall in Firm Gradient Securities, LLC

Terry Bahgat Accused by SEC of Misappropriating Client Funds