Investment Adviser Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Stealing Millions of Dollars from Clients

NEWARK, N.J. – A former broker and investment adviser was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for stealing millions of dollars from his clients in order to pay for personal expenses, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Gary Basralian, 72, of Springfield, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud and one count of investment adviser fraud. Judge Arleo imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Basralian was a registered broker who provided investment advisory services to clients and received compensation for advising them about investing in, purchasing, or selling securities. From 1989 until December 2017, he was registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), or its predecessors, as working at “Securities Firm A,” a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer with its principal place of business in Jersey City, New Jersey. Securities Firm A provided a broker-dealer platform for more than 2,000 independent financial advisers across the United States.

From July 2007 through November 2017, Basralian defrauded his clients by falsely telling them that he would invest their money in securities and other investments when, in fact, he misappropriated those funds and used them for his own personal expenditures – including payments on a BMW automobile and tens of thousands of dollars in credit card bills.

In one instance Basralian wired money from at least one victim client’s investment account at Securities Firm A to various accounts that he controlled and used the proceeds for his own benefit. When the victim asked why the account had diminished in value, Basralian sent the victim a phony spreadsheet showing that the money was being invested as loans to various companies and would be paid back with interest. Basralian admitted stealing at least $2 million.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Basralian to three years of supervised release.

On May 22, 2018, the N.J. Bureau of Securities in the Office of the N.J. Attorney General issued a summary revocation order against Basralian that revoked his agent and investment adviser representative registrations.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge James Buthorn, and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked the N.J. Bureau of Securities, under the direction of Bureau Chief Christopher Gerold, for its assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney A. Howard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Economic Crimes Unit.