Royal Alliance Associates

Silver Law Group is Investigating Gary Basralian of Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.

July 26, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Gary Basralian (CRD #14385) was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities. Without admitting or denying the findings, Basralian consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he failed to provide FINRA requested documents and information in connection with an investigation into, among other things, the circumstances of his resignation from his member firm. The findings stated that the firm had filed a Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration (Form U5) terminating Basralian’s registrations and reporting that he resigned after a customer allegation of fraud and breach of contract related to investments away from the firm.

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Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with Gary Basralian

If you invested with Gary Basralian and believe you have lost money due to his misconduct, you may be able to file a claim to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration. For a free evaluation of your potential case by as securities attorney, please contact Silver Law Group.

Royal Alliance Associates Arbitration Lawyer

June 1, 2018 | Silver Law Group

The recent arrest of former broker Gary Basralian (CRD #14385) for defrauding two clients of $2.1 million also raises allegations of failure to supervise about his brokerage firm, Royal Alliance Associates (CRD #23131.) According to news reports, Basralian embezzled money from two elderly women and used the funds for his own expenses. When the discrepancies were discovered, the elderly victims’ attorney notified both the FBI and DOJ. Both agencies took immediate action, and Basralian was arrested May 23, 2018 on charges of wire and investment adviser fraud. He could face as much as 25 years in prison.

The stockbroker in question allegedly deliberately sought out vulnerable victims who might not notice that he was stealing funds directly from their accounts. Basralian is, himself, 70 years of age—so he likely embezzled from his contemporaries. When the law firm representing the two victims contacted Royal Alliance, Basralian was not immediately terminated, but allowed to resign. He signed a FINRA agreement and was barred from being a broker or affiliated with any broker firms.

But what about the brokerage firm, Royal Alliance, that failed to stop him? And why didn’t Royal Alliance notice or stop Basralian’s unethical activities over a ten-year period? Allegations against Royal Alliance in this case include inadequate supervision of brokers and lax anti-money laundering compliance that allowed this to not only happen, but continue. But this is not the first time Royal Alliance has been host to broker misbehavior, with several instances of “failure to supervise” kinds of sanctions.

Broker Gary Basralian Barred, Arrested After Allegations Of Using Client’s Moneys For His Own Expenses

June 1, 2018 | Silver Law Group

FINRA has barred former broker Gary Basralian (CRD# 14385) after allegations of stealing more than $2 million from two clients and using the money to pay his personal expenses. He is charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of investment adviser fraud. His last employer was Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. (CRD# 23131) of Maplewood, NJ, from 11/19/1989 through 12/20/2017.

His previous employment record includes (locations not available):

Integrated Resources Equity Corporation (CRD# 6403), from 07/18/1984 through 11/19/1989

Silver Law Group is Investigating Kimberly Kitts of Royal Alliance Associates

May 1, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Kimberly Kitts (CRD# 2768200) has been with Royal Alliance Associates in Palmer, Massachusetts since 2004. In a regulatory action from 2017, FINRA found that Kitts failed to respond to a FINRA request for information. Kitts also failed to request termination of her earlier suspension within the allotted time. As a result, FINRA permanently barred Kitts from being associated with any FINRA member firm. Kitts was also discharged from Royal Alliance Associates in 2017. The firm terminated Kitts after receiving correspondence from her client’s attorney alleging that Kitts converted or misappropriated the client’s funds.

Kitts has also been the subject of several customer disputes. In one dispute pending from 2017, the Claimant also alleges that Kitts converted or misappropriated the Claimant’s funds. In addition to this claim, Kitts has three other complaints against her that eventually were closed or dismissed. These complaints included allegations such as unsuitability and non-compliance with client requests.

FINRA requires that its members refrain from engaging in fraudulent or deceptive practices with their clients. FINRA also requires its members to only charge their clients a reasonable fee for services.

Silver Law Group is Investigating Mark Perry of Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.

March 2, 2018 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is currently investigating former Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. financial advisor Mark Perry (CRD# 1219294) regarding unsuitable investment recommendations to elderly clients. Perry was registered with Independent Financial Group, LLC in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina and with Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Previously, Perry was registered with Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina from 2003 to 2015, when he was terminated regarding, “Under internal review for violations of firm’s email correspondence policy. In connection with the firm’s review of a customer complaint, the firm reviewed email correspondence from Mr. Perry to the customer that contained promissory and/or predictive statements, in violation of the firm policy.”

In September 2017, Perry consented to the FINRA sanctions and to the entry of findings that he made unsuitable investment recommendations to four elderly, retired customers, which caused them collectively to see realized and unrealized losses of approximately $200,000. FINRA found that Perry over concentrated the customers’ accounts in precious metal sector securities, and that he recommended that the customers purchase and hold leveraged mutual funds and/or Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in their accounts for extended time periods of up to 963 days, which was unsuitable for his customers. Additionally, FINRA found that Perry falsified the account records of the four elderly customers referenced above by misstating each customer’s risk tolerance in order to recommend that the customer purchase high-risk securities. FINRA also found that Perry sent emails to a customer that mislead and made promissory statements about the investments in the customer’s account. Perry also failed to disclose two customer complaints regarding trading losses to his member firms. Perry was sanctioned to 18 months suspension, which will end in March 2019.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Invested with Mark Perry

Former Ameriprise Broker William B. Wyman Under Investigation Over Allegations of Selling Unapproved Investments

June 6, 2017 | Silver Law Group

Silver Law Group is investigating form Palm Bay, Florida-based Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 6363) broker William B. Wyman (CRD# 4155621) after allegations that he sold away from his employing firm surface.

According to Wyman’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, FINRA barred Wyman in January 2017 after he failed to request termination of his suspension after his suspension period ended. Accordingly, FINRA automatically barred him from associating with any FINRA member in any capacity.

Wyman’s most recent BrokerCheck disclosure is a customer complaint that alleges negligence and that Wyman sold the customer an unapproved investment outside the brokerage firm. The complaint alleges almost $100,000 in damages.