GPB Capital Holdings

GPB Capital Sells Prime Automotive Group Dealerships for $880M

Published on: September 16, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

GPB Sells Remaining Prime Automotive Group Dealerships to Group 1 Automotive

According to a regulatory filing submitted on September 13th, 2021, the private equity firm is selling all of its Prime Automotive car dealerships to Group 1 Automotive Inc. for $880M. The sale includes GPB Automotive Portfolio’s remaining 30 stores and three collision repair shops.

GPB Auto is one of the alternative asset firm’s largest funds, and it has been selling car dealerships since at least 2018 when it owned 52 of them. It is one of the largest GPB funds and has reported huge losses.

Did GPB Capital Holdings Executives Improperly Use Investors’ Money To Fund Personal Spending?

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

Federal Prosecutors Interviewed Alternative Asset Firm’s Former Auditor

Six months after the Justice Department filed criminal charges against ex-GPB Capital Holdings executives for operating an over $1.8B Ponzi scam that defrauded more than 17,000 investors, prosecutors have submitted a court filing disclosing that federal officials have interviewed Alan Materazo of Margolin Winer & Evens, an ex-auditor and accountant for the private placement firm.

Former GPB CEO and founder David Gentile, ex-managing partner Jeffrey Schneider, and Ascendant Capital owner Jeffrey Lash, who were charged with securities fraud, and conspiracy have also come under scrutiny for allegedly using investors’ money to pay for their own expenses. The interview of Materazo may have shed more light on whether this was, in fact, the case.

Ex-Madison Avenue Securities Broker Jeffrey Dixson Named in Numerous GPB Investor Fraud Claims

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

Former Vancouver, Washington Financial Adviser Has 21 Disclosures On Record

Jeffrey Raymond Dixson, an ex-Madison Avenue Securities investment advisor and stockbroker, is the subject of at least 10 Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claims in which the customers are seeking damages for their GPB private placement losses.

The investments were issued by GPB Capital Holdings, which is now accused of running an over $1.8B Ponzi scam that defrauded more than 17,000 investors. Madison Avenue Securities is one of many broker-dealers that earned over $160M in commissions from selling GPB alternative investments.

Ongoing Concerns About GPB Auto Group’s Ability to Survive

Published on: May 20, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

GPB Capital’s Auto Group has released more bad news about the financial condition of the company and the likelihood that it can continue as a substantial concern. Specifically, the New York-based private equity firm, GPB Capital Holdings, LLC produced recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission which included additional financial information.

The parent company is already facing multiple civil fraud charges for their Ponzi scheme and the recent ability to maintain business as usual does not come as a shock to our experienced attorneys at Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm).

SEC Filing Reveals Uncertain Future Ahead for GPB Auto Group

Geneos Wealth Management Named in $1M GPB Investor Fraud Claim

Published on: March 30, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Brokerage-Dealer Accused of Unsuitable Investment Recommendation In Three GPB Funds

Geneos Wealth Management, a Denver, Colorado-based brokerage firm, is accused of inappropriately recommending that a customer invest in three GPB Capital funds: The GPB Holdings II LP, the GPB Automotive Portfolio, and GPB Waste Management. The investment fraud claim contends that the broker-dealer invited GPB Capital Holdings employees to give a presentation in order to get investors on board.

GPB Capital Holdings, a New York-based alternative assets firm, is now accused of operating a more than $1.8 billion Ponzi scam that enriched not just the company’s executives but also the dozens of brokerage firms and their registered representatives. These firms failed to carry out the proper due diligence when they unsuitably recommended and sold GPB private placements to customers.

Advisor Group Broker-Dealers Named in GPB Capital Fraud Claims Raised Their Legal Reserves

Published on: March 19, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Customers of Sagepoint Financial, Royal Alliance Associates, and FSC Securities Have Suffered Losses in the GPB Funds

According to InvestmentNews, three Advisor Group brokerage firms raised their reserves for expected “legal and regulatory matters” by up to three times last year. The firms disclosed this information in their 2020 Focus Reports, which are financial statements that they recently submitted with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Although the broker-dealers did not explain what they needed these added legal reserves for, they are among the dozens of financial firms that collectively earned over $160M in commissions from selling GPB private placements to investors.

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.

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.

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.