Royal Alliance Agrees to Pay $400,000 for Failing to Catch Brokers Who Stole Millions

Posted on January 22nd, 2020 at 2:23 PM
Royal Alliance Agrees to Pay $400,000 for Failing to Catch Brokers Who Stole Millions

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:

Independent broker-dealer Royal Alliance Associates ("Royal Alliance") has agreed to pay $400,000 for failing to catch two former brokers who stole more than $3.8 million from customers.

According to a recent AdvisorHub article, a New Jersey broker Gary Basralian wire-transferred $1.4 million in more than 60 transactions between 2009 and 2017, from a "disabled widow" to the bank account of a limited liability company he created and to a law firm. Royal Alliance failed to stop the transfers, despite several red flags. For example, the company's address was the same as the broker's office, and the firm's policy prohibited third-party wire transfers. Also, the broker forged requests for unauthorized third-party checks from the widow and another customer's account without the Royal Alliance verifying the address to which the checks were sent.

Separately, a Massachusetts broker, Kimberly Pitts, stole more than $2.3 million from two customers between June 2013 and June 2017 by forging 65 third-party wire transfer requests from their accounts to the bank account that the broker controlled.

Royal Alliance terminated its relationship with both brokers and has compensated all of the customers. Both brokers have pled guilty to criminal charges. Basralian and Pitts were sentenced to 70 and 87 months in prison respectively. FINRA barred both of them from the securities industry.

The attorneys of Eccleston Law LLC represent investors and advisors nationwide in securities and employment matters. The securities lawyers at Eccleston Law also practice a variety of other areas of practice for financial investors and advisors including Securities FraudCompliance ProtectionBreach of Fiduciary DutyFINRA Matters, and much more. Our attorneys draw on a combined experience of nearly 65 years in delivering the highest quality legal services. If you are in need of legal services, contact us to schedule a one-on-one consultation today.

Related Attorneys: James J. Eccleston

Tags: james eccleston, eccleston law, eccleston law llc, eccleston, royal alliance,

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

I cannot thank you enough for your efforts. You have proven to be a valuable resource

Jim T.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

October 9, 2024
Charles Schwab Faces Lawsuit Over Failure to Prevent Elder Fraud in Computer Hack

A new lawsuit claims that Charles Schwab failed to protect an elderly client from a fraudulent scheme that drained her retirement savings.

October 8, 2024
Western International Securities Fined Over $1.5 Million for Failing to Detect Churning

Western International Securities, a California broker-dealer, has been ordered to pay over $1.5 million for failing to detect churning in 100 customer accounts.

October 7, 2024
SEC Enforcement Chief Gurbir Grewal to Step Down After Leading Major Crackdowns

Gurbir Grewal, Director of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is stepping down after playing a central role in major enforcement actions against Wall Street and the cryptocurrency industry.