Private Placements

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.

Texas Retiree Files GPB Capital Fraud Claim Against Calton & Associates

Published on: December 15, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Senior Investor Seeks up to $500K in Damages For Loss of Savings

A retiree from Texas has filed a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim against brokerage firm Calton & Associates over losses he suffered in GPB Capital Holdings private placements and other non-publicly traded products. This investor is seeking up to $500K in damages. Arbitrators in Dallas, Texas will hear his case.

At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com), our Dallas securities fraud attorneys are representing this claimant in his fight to recover his losses.

Multiple Investors Accuse Prime Capital Investment Advisors and Ex-Capital Securities Broker Luke Johnson of Unsuitable Investment Recommendations

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

Scottsdale, Arizona Investment Advisor Was Fired By Broker-Dealer Coastal Securities

Luke Michael Johnson, currently Managing Director for Prime Capital Investment Advisors in Paradise Valley in the Scottsdale area, is named in over a dozen pending disputes by investors seeking damages for losses they allegedly suffered while working with him. Johnson was also the president of Legend Capital Group and a former Capital Securities broker where he worked for seven years.

There are 19 disclosures on his BrokerCheck record. The majority of these are investor claims, with a number of them requesting damages that are in the six- or seven-figures.

Customers of Peregrine Private Capital’s Robert Smith File GPB Investment Fraud Claims

Published on: November 9, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Ex-Concorde Investment Services Broker Allegedly Made Negligent Recommendations

Robert Scott Smith, the President of Peregrine Private Capital in Newberg, Oregon, and a former Concorde Investment Services, is named in multiple Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claims by former customers that invested in GPB private placement funds at his recommendation.

GPB Capital Holdings is accused of running a $1.8B Ponzi scam. Smith is one of a number of Concorde Investment Services brokers who sold this alternative asset firm’s private placements to customers.

Intrinsic Value Partners Co-Founder and Noble Capital Markets Broker Joseph Hain Faces Misrepresentations Allegations

Published on: October 30, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Former Customers of Boca Raton, Florida Financial Advisor Request $700K in Damages

Two investors have filed separate Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claims against Noble Capital Markets registered representative, Joseph Menachem Hain, also known as Joey Hain. Based in Boca Raton, Hain is the broker-dealer’s investment banking director. He also is the co-founder of the advisory firm, Intrinsic Value Partners.

Hain has worked in the industry for 14 years. Other firms where he used to be a broker include Paulson Investment Company, Aegis Capital Corp., Westpark Capital, Tejas Securities Group, Wynston Hill Capital, and Robotti & Co.

Investor Filed $150K GPB Private Placement Case Naming Capital Wealth Management Advisor Lee Duckworth

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

Three Pending FINRA Arbitration Claims Accuse Triad Advisors Broker of Unsuitability

Lee Duckworth, the CEO of investment advisory firm Capital Wealth Management and a Triad Advisors stockbroker, was recently named in three Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claims accusing him of making unsuitable investment recommendations to customers.

At least one of the disputes involves private placements from GPB Capital Holdings, an alternative asset firm accused of running a more than $1.5B Ponzi scam. Duckworth is a West Warwick, Rhode Island broker and investment advisor.

Florida Retiree Loses Money in GPB Private Placements & REITs While Under Supervision Of CFG Capital Management Advisor Mark Cline

Published on: September 25, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Investor’s FINRA Arbitration Claim Seeks Damages of Up to $100K in GPB Private Placements and Other Securities

A Florida retiree has filed a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim against the brokerage firm, National Securities Corp.

The claimant contends that agents of National Securities Corp overconcentrated his account in real estate investment trusts (REITs), privately traded securities, and private placements. This included a large position in GPB Capital Holdings, which is accused of operating an over $1.7B Ponzi scam.

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.

GPB Capital Holdings Reports a Nearly $200M Drop In Assets Under Management

Published on: July 27, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Delayed Filing with the SEC Shows 45.2% Drop in AUM Over 18 Months

Last month, GPB Capital Holdings finally filed its Form ADV with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) after requesting an extension from the regulator in 2019.

In the form, the alternative asset firm, which is already under siege in the wake of numerous federal and state regulator investigations, an FBI probe, and lawsuits accusing it of operating a massive Ponzi scam, reported a $196.3M decline in assets under management (AUM) over 18 months from the end of 2017 to the end of June 2019. That’s a 45.2% drop from $434.3M in AUM to $238.6M.

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.