Securities Dealer Indicted in $1.3-Million Scam

A securities dealer has been indicted for allegedly masterminding a scam that bilked 35 investors out of more than $1.3 million, prosecutors said Thursday. Robert Corsaut, 46, is charged with 39 counts of mail and securities fraud--crimes he allegedly committed to carry out an 18-month scheme run though his company, Alpha Trust. A federal grand jury in Los Angeles returned the indictment this week, Assistant U.S. Atty. John Walsh said.

Corsaut, who moved to Tulsa, Okla., from Costa Mesa earlier this year, started Alpha Trust in January, 1988. He persuaded investors, mostly Orange County residents, to purchase an interest in the firm by promising that the investments were foolproof, Walsh said. But Corsaut only invested a small amount of the $1.33 million he collected, the indictment said. In addition, more than $200,000 of the money invested went directly to Corsaut and his employees, Walsh said.