Royal Alliance

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Investigates Ex-Royal Alliance Broker Gary Basralian

Published on: January 7, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Ex-Royal Alliance Broker Stole Money From Older Women With Disabilities

If you suffered losses while working with former Royal Alliance Associates broker, Gary Basralian, our broker fraud lawyers at Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm) want to talk to you.

Gary Basralian, whom the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) barred in 2018, is currently in prison for fraud, including bilking older women who suffered from disabilities. Recently, Royal Alliance, an Advisor Group firm, agreed to pay $250K to settle a related regulatory case brought by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities for not properly supervising Basralian.

Sagepoint Financial and Royal Alliance Sold GPB Private Placements to Investors

Published on: August 30, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Two broker-dealers, Sagepoint Financial and Royal Alliance, recently made headlines after investors who bought GPB Capital Holdings private placements from them sued the alternative asset firm in a class action securities fraud case. GPB Capital Holdings, which invests in waste management and car dealerships, is accused of operating a $1.8B Ponzi scam.

The lead plaintiffs of the first class action securities lawsuit are Karen Loch of Georgia and Victor Wade of Texas. They invested in two GPB funds–$50K in GPB Holdings II for Wade that he purchased through Sagepoint Financial and $75K in GPB Automotive Portfolio for Lock through Royal Alliance Associates.

GPB Holdings II and GPB Automotive are GPB’s two largest funds, with both having raised over $600M from over 6000 investors. The two funds are not listed or traded on any exchange. In May, InvestmentNews reported that their assets were over $10M and they had at least 750 shareholders, thus requiring them to be registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Still, GPB failed to register both funds by their April 30, 2018 deadline and no annual reports have been filed since. This failure has kept Lock, Wade, and thousands of other investors from receiving even the most basic information about both funds and their money.

Investors of GPB Capital Holdings Funds File Class Action Securities Fraud Lawsuit

Published on: August 19, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The first class action securities case against GPB Capital Holdings has been filed. The alternative asset management firm, which invests in waste auto management companies and car dealerships, is accused of operating a $1.8B dollar Ponzi scam that caused thousands of investors to suffer major losses. Now, investors of two of its funds are demanding that GPB fulfill its duty to provide yearly audited statements. GPB has not issued these statements since 2017.

The lead plaintiffs in the case, Victor Wade of Texas and Karen Loch of Georgia, both bought into the GPB funds as limited partnerships. Wade invested $50K in GPB Holdings II through Sagepoint Financial. Loch invested $75K in GPB Automotive via Royal Alliance Associates. Both brokerage firms are Advisor Group, Inc. subsidiaries.

Loch and Wade are suing on behalf of investors of the GPB Holdings II fund and the GPB Automotive Portfolio Fund. They have named the two funds, GPB Capital Holdings, its CEO David Gentile, COO Roger Anscher, CFO William Jacoby, and a number of Doe parties as the defendants.

Royal Alliance Must Pay $1.4M To Retirees for Non-traded REIT, Variable Annuities Sales

Published on: July 21, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. panel says that AIG Advisor Group (AIG) subsidiary Royal Alliance Associates Inc. must pay $1.4 million to three retirees who claim that the brokerage firm was negligent when supervising the sales of variable annuities and nontraded real estate investment trusts.

The investors, who were former AT & T Inc. employees, claim that ex-broker Kathleen Tarr recommended that they take a lump-sum buyout from the communications company instead of a lifetime annuity. The money was then put into non-traded REIT company Inland Real Estate, as well as different variable annuities.

Tarr’s BrokerCheck record shows that she has been named in about forty customer disputes and complaints. She was let go from Royal Alliance in 2010.

The claimants, who are low-wealth, low-income seniors, believe that they should not have been encouraged to take a lump sum and place their funds into non-traded REITs and variable annuities involving an IRA. Even though they did not sustain out-of-pocket losses from the investment recommendations, the retirees purportedly lost out on earnings they would have made if only they had invested their money more reasonably or opted for the lifetime annuity. With the latter, an investor would have given over a lump sum figure in return for a guaranteed payout for the duration of his/her life.
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