Trump Grants Clemency To Private Equity Executive Who Defrauded Thousands

Trump Grants Clemency To Private Equity Executive Who Defrauded Thousands

President Donald Trump granted clemency to David Gentile, a private equity executive, after he was convicted of defrauding thousands of victims in a $1.6 billion scheme. Gentile, 59, was granted clemency just a few days into his seven-year prison sentence, according to The New York Times , and was released from prison Wednesday, according to prison records. Gentile’s conviction will not be erased. Gentile and his co-defendant, Jeffry Schneider, were convicted in August 2024 on conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and securities fraud. Prosecutors said Gentile and Schneider participated in a years-long scheme to defraud more than 10,000 investors by using Gentile’s private equity firm, GPB Capital, to misrepresent the source of the funds and how they were performing to make monthly distribution payments. The GPB funds raised more than $1.6 billion collectively from investors. Gentile was sentenced in May to seven years in prison, and Schneider was sentenced to six. It appears Schneider is still in prison. Joseph Nocella Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement at the time Gentile and Schneider built a “foundation of lies.” “The defendants built GPB Capital on a foundation of lies,” Nocella said. “They raised approximately $1.6 billion from individual investors based on false promises of generating investment returns from the profits of portfolio companies, all while using investor capital to pay distributions and create a false appearance of success. “The sentences imposed today are well deserved and should serve as a warning to would-be fraudsters that seeking to get rich by taking advantage of investors gets you only a one-way ticket to jail.” FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia echoed the same sentiment. “For years, David Gentile and Jeffry Schneider wove a web of lies to steal more than one billion dollars from investors through empty promises of guaranteed profits and unlawfully rerouting funds to provide an illusion of success,” he said. “The defendants abused their high-ranking positions within their company to exploit the trust of their investors and directly manipulate payments to perpetuate this scheme.” A White House spokesperson confirmed Trump issued a commutation for Gentile. “David Gentile was the CEO and cofounder of GPB Capital Holdings, which pooled investors’ funds to acquire stakes in mature companies in the automotive, retail, healthcare, housing, and other industries,” the spokesperson said in a statement to HuffPost. “Following its founding in 2013, GPB collected more than $1.8 billion in capital. “Unlike similar companies, GPB paid regular annualised distributions to its investors. In 2015, GPB disclosed to investors the possibility of using investor capital to pay some of these distributions rather than funding them from current operations. “Even though this was disclosed to investors the Biden Department of Justice claimed this was a Ponzi scheme. This claim was profoundly undercut by the fact that GPB had explicitly told investors what would happen. At trial, the government was unable to tie any supposedly fraudulent representations to Mr. Gentile. Mr. Gentile also raised serious concerns that the government had elicited false testimony and failed to correct such testimony.” Alice Marie Johnson, Trump’s pardon czar, wrote on Thursday on social media that she was “deeply grateful” that Gentile would be reunited with his young children.

TV tonight: Maxine Peake and Lola Petticrew star in a brutal, gripping drama about the Troubles

TV tonight: Maxine Peake and Lola Petticrew star in a brutal, gripping drama about the Troubles

Violence erupts in series based on Patrick Radden-Keefe’s award-winning book. Plus: poignant memories are evoked in The Marvellous Miniature Workshop. Here’s what to watch today 9pm, Channel 4 First shown on Disney+, this brutal, gripping drama tells the story of IRA volunteer Dolours Price. Based on Patrick Radden Keefe’s award-winning book, it begins with the abduction of Belfast mother of 10 Jean McConville in 1972. Meanwhile, as violence erupts, Dolours swears she isn’t getting involved … It stars Maxine Peake as the older Dolours, and Lola Petticrew, who recently crushed hearts in Trespasses, as the younger. Hollie Richardson Continue reading...