SEC Names Joseph Walsh in Complaint Against Alpine Securities Corporation

Joseph Walsh (CRD #: 1519958), a broker registered with Alpine Securities Corporation, is named in a pending SEC civil complaint, according to his BrokerCheck record, accessed on October 7, 2022. If you want to learn more about his conduct as a broker, keep reading.

SEC Complaint

On August 10, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against Alpine Securities Corporation and Joseph Walsh. The complaint alleges that Alpine Securities Corporation (“Alpine”) seized its retail customers’ securities in May and June 2019 without notice or authorization in an attempt to force these clients to close their Alpine brokerage accounts.

These unauthorized transactions were allegedly executed by Joseph Walsh as the firm’s Chief Operations Officer.

The SEC alleges that Alpine, through Joseph Walsh, sold approximately $268,000 in client securities to Alpine’s proprietary account on the grounds that the firm had deemed these securities—ranging in value from $400 to $1,500—“worthless.” Alpine allegedly did not provide clients with notice or seek client approval for these transactions.

Subsequently, Alpine allegedly deemed 545 client accounts “abandoned” and transferred approximately $54 million worth of securities from those accounts into Alpine-controlled state escheatment accounts. This allegedly violated the terms of the firm’s customer agreements.

Alpine allegedly returned these securities to its customers following numerous customer complaints and inquiries from FINRA.

The SEC alleges that Joseph Walsh violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder, Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and aided and abetted Alpine’s violations of Section 15(c)(1)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act.

This complaint is currently pending.

The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 forbids the use of deceptive or manipulative devices in relation to the purchase or sale of securities. Rules 10b-5(a) and (c) ban the use of fraudulent schemes, artifices, and all other forms of fraudulent practice.

Section 15(c)(1)(A) prohibits brokers and dealers from using manipulative, deceptive, or otherwise fraudulent methods to influence the purchase or sale of securities.

The Securities Act of 1933

Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 forbids the use of fraudulent schemes and devices relating to the interstate securities business. In particular, it bans the use of false or misleading statements and the omission of facts.

Background Information

Joseph Walsh has passed the following exams:

• Series 63 – Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination
• SIE – Securities Industry Essentials Examination
• Series 7 – General Securities Representative Examination
• Series 27 – Financial and Operations Principal Examination
• Series 24 – General Securities Principal Examination

Joseph Walsh is a registered broker in Texas and Utah.

He has also worked for the following firms:

• Hilltop Securities (CRD#:6220)
• First Southwest Company (CRD#:316)
• Emmett A Larkin Company (CRD#:6625)

Kurta Law Can Help

If you worked with Joseph Walsh and you have concerns about your investments, please contact us today at 877-600-0098 or info@kurtalawfirm.com for a free consultation.

For over 20 years, Kurta Law has advocated on behalf of investors who want to recover their investment losses from brokers and brokerage firms. Kurta Law is a nationally recognized law firm and exclusively represents investors against brokers and brokerage firms on a contingency basis. This means that the firm only earns a fee if our securities attorneys recover money on your behalf.