Investor Lawyers Blog

SEC Seeks Court-Appointed Monitor To Protect Investors Victimized In Mass GPB Capital Ponzi Scam

Published on: February 12, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Regulator Wants to Prevent Alternative Asset Firm From Causing Investors More Financial Harm

In U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has submitted a court filing asking that a monitor be appointed to prevent GPB Capital Holdings, LLC from committing more alleged misconduct and disposing of any assets that could be used to recover investors’ money. The regulator is suing the alternative asset firm for allegedly defrauding more than 17,000 investors in an over $1.7B Ponzi scam.

The SEC contends that having a monitor is warranted and needed. The Commission wants to give this person broad powers over “non-privileged books, records, and account statements for the entities and assets” related to GPB Capital Holdings’ portfolio companies and funds.

Woodbury Financial Services Broker Robert Ginsberg Accused of Unsuitable Investment Recommendations

Published on: February 10, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Wallingford, Connecticut Investment Advisor Named in Four Pending FINRA Arbitration Cases

If you suffered investment losses while working with Woodbury Financial Services broker, Robert Scott Ginsberg, please contact Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com). The Woodbury Financial investment advisor, who is based in Wallingford, Connecticut, is named in four pending customer disputes.

He has been in the securities industry for 12 years. Prior to working for Woodbury Financial Services in 2016, where he is also a registered investment advisor, Ginsberg was a registered representative for Investors Capital Corp. and Investors Capital Advisory.

New York And Other States Sue GPB Capital Holdings For Mass Ponzi Scam

Published on: February 9, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

State Lawsuits Come After SEC Complaint and FBI Arrests

New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing GPB Capital Holdings along with five co-defendants for running a mass Ponzi scam.

The NY AG contends that the alternative asset firm and private equity fund manager, which is based in the state, defrauded investors throughout the US of over $700M. The complaint said that more than 1,400 of those victims were New Yorkers who invested over $150M.

Investors Seek $600K in Negligence Claims Naming Money Concepts Capital Broker Ray Reese

Published on: February 9, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Unsuitability, Misrepresentations and Omissions Are Among the Other Allegations

Ray Gene Reese, a Money Concepts Capital stockbroker and investment advisor based in Farmington, Missouri, is currently named in two pending Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claims seeking $600K in damages. Reese has been in the securities industry for 32 years.

At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com), we represent investors with FINRA arbitration claims against the broker-dealers and registered representatives responsible for the financial harm they have suffered.

GPB Capital Fraud Case Against Arete Wealth Management Results In $515K Arbitration Award

Published on: February 8, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Claimants Had Alleged Negligence, Poor Supervision, and Other Charges

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has awarded one customer and his trust $515K in their GPB private placement fraud claim against Arete Wealth Management. The Chicago-based brokerage firm also has been ordered to pay all of the claimant’s legal fees. The award is more than twice what was sought by the claimants, who had requested $225K in damages.

This is just one of the thousands of broker-dealer negligence claims brought against the financial firms and their registered representatives that marketed and sold GPB investments to their customers. GPB Capital Holdings, which invests primarily in waste management and auto dealerships, has allegedly been running an over $1.5B Ponzi scam.

SEC Says GPB Capital Holdings CEO and Executives Defrauded Over 17,000 Investors In $1.7B Ponzi Scam

Published on: February 5, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Justice Department Files Parallel Criminal Charges Against GPB Capital’s David Gentile and Others

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed civil charges against GPB Capital Holdings CEO and owner David Gentile, ex-GPB managing partner Jeffrey Lash, Ascendant Capital owner Jeffry Schneider, and affiliated entities, including Ascendant Alternative Strategies, of defrauding 17,000 retail investors in a more than $1.7B in a Ponzi-like scam.

GPB Capital Holdings, an alternative asset firm that invests in auto dealerships and waste management, has been under investigation over Ponzi fraud allegations by the SEC, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and others for more than two years. Now, in a parallel case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York has filed criminal charges indicting Gentile, Lash, and Schneider. If convicted, they could each spend up to two decades in prison.

Commonwealth Financial Network Broker Joseph Leonczyk Sold FS Energy and FS KKR Investments To Customers

Published on: February 5, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Financial Advisor in Ludlow, Massachusetts is Named in Two Pending Customer Disputes

Joseph Anthony Leonczyk, a Commonwealth Financial Network registered representative, is currently named in two pending customer disputes in which the claimants allege that he unsuitably recommended that they invest in FS Energy and Power Fund (FSEP), FS KKR Capital Corp. (FSK), and other alternative investments. The claimants are seeking $65K and $100K, respectively, for their losses.

FS Energy and Power and FS KKR Capital investors have both suffered significant losses. FS KKR Capital underwent a reverse split last year that caused its value to drop. FS Energy and Power stopping distributions while possibly heading for bankruptcy. Its latest share price on the secondary market is $1/share.

GPB Capital Principals Indicted

Published on: February 4, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Jeffry Schneider, David Gentile, and Jeffrey Lash, GPB Capital Principals Indicted

Our firm has written extensively about GPB Capital and allegations that the “investments” were a massive Ponzi scheme. The U.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of New York has indicted several of the principals of GPB Capital, and the indictment was unsealed today, February 4, 2021.

Specifically, the district attorney incited Jeffry Schneider, David Gentile, and Jeffrey Lash. These individuals were also all arrested today and will appear before local courts for initial appearances in Austin, Texas, Fort Myers, Florida, and Boston, Massachusetts. According to the indictment, Jeffry Schneider, David Gentile, and Jeffrey Lash misrepresented the GPB Capital investments to investors about “the source of funds used to pay monthly distribution payments to investors in several of the GPB Funds, including Holdings I, Automotive Portfolio and Holdings II, and (b) the revenue generated by Holdings I in 2014 and Automotive Portfolio in 2015.” These allegations are also non-exclusive, meaning the prosecuting attorneys are leaving open-ended the totality of misrepresentations that are at issue.

Ex- CEO’s Lawsuit Against GPB Capital Holdings’ Prime Automotive Group May Proceed

Published on: February 4, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Ex-Prime Automotive Group CEO Accused Alternative Asset Firm of Running Massive Ponzi Scam

A Massachusetts Superior Court judge says the majority of the lawsuit filed by former Prime Automotive Group CEO, David Rosenberg, can move forward. Rosenberg, in his complaint, claims that he was fired and retaliated against after he accused the parent company, GPB Capital Holdings, of financial misconduct.

The alternative asset firm is under investigation over allegations that it ran an over $1.5B Ponzi scam that defrauded thousands of investors. Its many GPB funds have dropped significantly in value and investor redemptions were suspended more than two years ago.

Triad Advisors Broker Darrin Cohen Under Scrutiny Over Possible GPB Private Placement Sales

Published on: February 3, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Wealth Enhancement & Preservation CEO Named in Two Pending Investor Claims

Triad Advisors stockbroker, Darrin Stuart Cohen, is currently the subject of two pending Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claims from customers collectively seeking $600K in damages. The allegations involve the unsuitability of investments, including alternative investments, that were sold to them.

Cohen is also the CEO of Wealth Enhancement & Preservation in Alpharetta, Georgia and a registered investment advisor for Red Triangle, LLC in Charleston, South Carolina.