GPB Ponzi Fraud

GPB Capital Notifies Investors of Independent Monitor But Denies Ponzi Fraud Allegations

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

SEC Requested Monitor to Protect GPB Fund Investors

In a letter dated March 3rd, 2021, to all investors of its limited partnerships, CFO and interim CEO of GPB Capital Holdings, Rob Chmiel, notified investors that the firm has consented to a court-appointed independent monitor by the SEC to run the company and oversee its assets.

The regulator said it wanted to protect GPB Fund investors from further financial harm in the wake of the Ponzi fraud charges.

Missouri and Illinois Fraud Lawsuits Say Ex-GPB Capital Holdings CEO and Ascendant Capital Owner Illicitly Made Over $40M in Over $1.7B Ponzi Scam

Published on: March 1, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

States Allege Self-Dealing: Key GPB Capital Parties Used Investors’ Money to Fund Luxury Expenses

In separate lawsuits suing GPB Capital Holdings and other key parties for defrauding investors in a more than $1.8B Ponzi scam, Missouri and Illinois regulators are accusing former GPB Capital Holdings CEO, David Gentile, and Ascendant Capital owner, Jeffry Schneider, of illicitly collecting over $40M from the alternative asset firm’s operations.

The two men, along with ex-GPB Managing Partner, Jeffrey Lash, were recently arrested in a related federal criminal case that was brought parallel to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s own civil lawsuit. GPB Capital Holdings is an alternative asset firm that is accused of operating like a Ponzi scam that defrauded over 17,000 investors.

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.

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.

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-GPB Capital Holdings CCO Pleads Guilty to Theft of Government Property

Published on: September 16, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Michael Cohn Allegedly Stole Information About SEC Probe Into GPB Ponzi Scam Allegations

Nearly a year after he was charged with obstruction of justice, Michael Cohn, the former Chief Compliance Officer of GPB Capital Holdings, has pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor crime of theft of government property.

The initial charges against him had been classified as federal crimes and included obstruction of justice, unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, and unauthorized computer access.

Despite $1.8B Ponzi Scam Allegations, GPB Capital Received Up to $7M in PPP Loans

Published on: July 13, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Alternative Asset Firm Gets Federal Aid While Its Investors Fight To Recover Their Losses

Even as the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the FBI, state regulators and others have continued to investigate GPB Capital Holdings over allegations that it ran an up to $1.8B Ponzi scam, the alternative asset firm and its affiliated companies were able to secure between $3M and $7M in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans following the outbreak of COVID-19.

News of the loans was disclosed by the Small Business Administration. GPB is one of over 660,000 small businesses that received loans under the PPP program, which is part of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Massachusetts Sues GPB Capital Holdings for Defrauding Investors of Over $14M

Published on: June 2, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

State Securities Regulator Claims GPB Capital Defrauded 180 Local Investors

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, William Galvin, has filed a civil fraud lawsuit against GPB Capital Holdings accusing it of defrauding 180 local investors who purchased more than $14M of private placements in five of the GPB funds.

The alternative asset firm, which acquires waste management operations and auto dealerships, has been accused of operating a more than $1.5B Ponzi scam.

GPB Capital Sued Again: A Class Action Fraud Case and One Lawsuit by Volkswagen

Published on: February 24, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

GPB Capital Holdings Faces Another Securities Fraud Lawsuit

Already the subject of mass fraud accusations, including allegations of a $1.8B Ponzi scam, the alternative assets firm is once again the defendant of two new lawsuits.

Adding to a growing list of GPB Capital lawsuits is another class action securities fraud case. The other, brought by Volkswagen of America, is accusing GPB Capital of breaking its agreement when it fired Prime Automotive Group CEO, David Rosenberg, last year.

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Investigates Ex-Triad Advisors Broker Michael Sievert For Selling GPB Private Placements

Published on: December 27, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Michael Sievert is Now an Arkadios Capital Broker

If you were an investor who suffered losses from GPB Capital Holdings investments that were sold to you by broker Michael Sievert, please contact Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LLP (SSEK Law Firm) today.

Sievert is currently an Arkadios Capital broker. Already, he is the subject of two customer disputes involving GPB private placements from his time when he was a Triad Advisors broker.