Securities Arbitration Lawyer Blog
On Tuesday, June 6, 2023, Jeffrey Lash, a former executive of GPB Capital Holdings, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in federal court in Brooklyn, NY.
In 2021, a federal grand jury brought criminal charges against Lash, David Gentile (founder and owner of GPB Capital), and a third individual, Jeffry Schneider. The charges are related to their management of the company, which has been described as a “Ponzi-like scheme.” In February 2021, the SEC also charged GPB Capital, Ascendant Capital, and Ascendant Alternative Strategies with running a Ponzi-like scheme that raised roughly $1.7 billion from over 17,000 investors, many of whom were retirees.
The criminal complaint alleged that Mr. Gentile, Mr. Lash, and Mr. Schneider used new money invested by retail investors to cover the promised 8% returns to prior investors, yet failed to disclose the source of the distributions to investors.