FINRA Sanctions Ahmed Gheith, Ex-Noble Capital Markets Advisor

Securities regulators recently sanctioned Staten Island financial advisor Ahmed Gheith (CRD# 5783951) in connection with allegations he improperly solicited private placement investments. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he is a broker with Ceros Financial Services and was formerly registered with Noble Capital Markets.

A disclosure on Mr. Gheith’s BrokerCheck report describes the FINRA sanction against him, issued in December 2022. FINRA’s findings allege that as a representative of Noble Capital Markets, he solicited investors to purchase private placement investments exempt from SEC registration “without having established pre-existing, substantive relationships with any of the investors.” According to FINRA, his firm started participating in two private placement offerings prior to his creation of a substantive relationship with the prospective investors, none of whom “had previously invested in securities offered by the firm.” The findings allege further that Mr. Gheith did not “obtain investor questionnaires from the prospective investors prior to the time they agreed to invest in an offering.” He allegedly solicited a total of $175,000 in investments in one of the offerings, and “solicited all prospective investors before having a substantive relationship with any of them.”

FINRA’s findings conclude that he “engaged in general solicitation” and that the private placement offerings and sales thus “did not qualify for an exemption from registration under Rule 506(b). Without admitting to or denying FINRA’s findings, Mr. Gheith consented to a fine of $7,500 and a one-month suspension that commenced on January 17, 2023 and will end on February 16, 2023.

Mr. Gheith’s BrokerCheck report also discloses a 2018 FINRA enforcement action against him. In this instance, FINRA found that he engaged in private securities transactions “without providing notice or receiving approval from his member firm.” FINRA alleged that he was aware that the private offering, which involved “a real estate development in Belize,” was unapproved by his firm, and that he was paid a total of $93,165 in connection with his solicitation and referral of customers to two other registered representatives. The customers in question invested $3.5 million in the offering, according to FINRA. In connection with these findings, he was issued a 12-month suspension and a fine of $10,000; he was also ordered to pay disgorgement of $31,055.

Another disclosure on Mr. Gheith’s BrokerCheck report concerns an investor complaint against him. Filed in 2017, the complaint alleged that as a representative of Paulson Investment Company, he committed fraud, made negligent representations, and engaged in unjust enrichment in connection with a promissory note sale. The complaint reached a settlement of $165,000.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Ahmed Gheith holds nine years of securities industry experience. Based in Staten Island, New York, he has been a broker with Ceros Financial Services since 2021. His registration history includes Noble Capital Markets, Paulson Investment Company, Aegis Capital, Cabot Lodge Securities, Joseph Gunnar & Company, and Spartan Capital Securities. He is currently under suspension by FINRA. (Information current as of January 23, 2023.)

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