IMADUR ‘GINO’ RAHMAN Barred by FINRA

On June 10, 2024, IMDADUR RAHMAN (IMADUR ‘GINO’ RAHMAN) a former Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith Inc. of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, financial advisor, was barred from the industry by FINRA. Rahman had been terminated by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith Inc. amid allegations of misconduct in his dealings with an elderly client, according to FINRA’s BrokerCheck.

According to the FINRA allegations, without admitting or denying the findings, IMADUR ‘GINO’ RAHMAN consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he allegedly facilitated an elderly client’s designation of Rahman's own wife as beneficiary on two accounts.

FINRA’s findings stated that the client was not IMADUR ‘GINO’ RAHMAN 's family member and Rahman failed to provide written notice to his member firm of the client’s designation of Rahman's wife as beneficiary.

FINRA also stated that IMADUR ‘GINO’ RAHMAN allegedly falsified the client's beneficiary forms by identifying his own wife as the client's niece. Rahman, according to FINRA, allegedly engaged in this conduct to prevent his firm from identifying the designation of his wife as a prohibited beneficiary designation.

According to the FINRA findings, IMADUR ‘GINO’ RAHMAN also engaged in an alleged undisclosed OBA (outside business activity) by providing services to the client, such as buying furniture, groceries, and clothing, driving him to appointments, and sending his mail to his relative. Rahman allegedly told the client and the relative that he could not be compensated for these services directly because the elderly client was his client, but instead directed them to write checks to Rahman's wife, which they did, totaling at least $116,000.

FINRA states that Rahman did not provide prior written notice to or receive approval from his firm for his OBA and also accepted gifts from the client and monetary gifts via payments from the client to vendors and credit card companies allegedly on IMADUR ‘GINO’ RAHMAN 's behalf. According to the FINRA report, Rahman repeatedly told the client about his outstanding bills and allegedly accepted the client's payment of those bills totaling more than $47,000.

IMADUR ‘GINO’ RAHMAN failed to disclose these gifts to the firm and falsely stated on compliance questionnaires that he had not received unreported gifts. According to FINRA, Merrill Lynch disclosed the allegations in a Form U5 termination notice last fall.

According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, available to the public on FINRA’s website, IMADUR ‘GINO’ RAHMAN had been in the securities industry for 26 years and was listed with 4 firms.  Rahman was with Merrill Lynch from 11/11/2005 - 10/19/2023.  Rahman joined North Financial, a Troy, Michigan branch of broker/dealer L.M. Kohn & Co., as a senior financial advisor after Merrill discharged him in October 2023, according to his BrokerCheck record.

If you or an elderly loved one have experienced financial losses due to the actions or recommendations of IMADUR ‘GINO’ RAHMAN formerly with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith Inc of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer at no cost regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses through a FINRA arbitration at:  888-760-6552.

Soreide Law Group represents clients nationwide before FINRA on a contingency fee basis.