GPB Capital News: Michael Cohn Facing Obstruction Charges
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed criminal charges against Michael Cohn, the Chief Compliance Officer and Managing Director of GPB Capital Holdings. Cohn is a former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) examiner.
The obstruction of justice charge is related to the regulator’s probe into the alternative asset firm, which is accused of operating a $1.5B Ponzi scam. Now, Cohn is accused of stealing information from the Commission before leaving the regulator last October to start his employment at GPB Holdings.
According to the FBI, Michael Cohn allegedly took proprietary information from databases he shouldn’t even have had access to, including confidential and privileged information related to the GPB probe.
The former SEC compliance examiner is accused of notifying the private placement firm that he had access to said information during hiring talks, as well as actually disclosing what he knew to other GPB executives on several occasions.
The other criminal charges against Cohn include unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and unauthorized computer access. If convicted on all counts, he could be sentenced to more than 25 years in prison.
GPB Under Fire Once More: Allegations Are Rising
The criminal case against Michael Cohn is just the latest development for which GPB Capital has come under fire. In the last year alone, the alternative asset firm, which invests primarily in auto dealerships and waste management, has gotten in trouble in the wake of:
- Missed filings that were due to regulators
- Allegations by two former business partners of fraud
- Suspended investor redemptions
- An auditor that quit due to “perceived risks”
- Civil probes by the Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and state regulators
- A criminal investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- A slew of investor claims brought against brokerage firms that sold GPB private placements
- Over 60 broker-dealers under scrutiny by Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, William Galvin, for selling GPB investments to customers
- Missing its own disclosure deadline with shareholders
- Reports that broker-dealers earned over $167M in commissions for selling GPB private placements to clients
- Some of the largest GPB funds plunging in value by over 75%, causing catastrophic losses for investors
Throughout all of these developments, GPB Capital and its executives have denied any wrongdoing.
GPB Investor Claims
Our GPB private placement investment fraud lawyers at Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm) have already filed a number of investor fraud claims against broker-dealers that sold these investments. Among the brokerage firms, we are suing on behalf of clients are Kalos Capital, Money Concepts Capital, Arkadios Capital, and others.
We are investigating claims against other financial firms that sold investments in:
- GPB Holdings II
- GPB Holdings III
- GPB Automotive Portfolio
- GPB NYC Development
- GPB Cold Storage
- GPB Waste Management
Private placements are not for every kind of investor. Unfortunately, even as brokerage firms sold GPB investments to clients, making high commissions, which may have been an incentive for many of these sales, it is the investors that have been left with huge losses.
If you live anywhere throughout the US, contact SSEK Law Firm so that we can help you explore your legal options during a free, no-obligation case assessment.