GPB Capital: Updates and Loss Recovery Options

Just when GPB Capital investors thought justice had finally been served, a stunning development has reignited their frustration and disbelief. On November 30, 2025, President Donald Trump commuted the seven-year prison sentence of David Gentile, the founder and CEO of GPB Capital. The decision came after Gentile had spent a mere two weeks behind bars—having reported to federal prison on November 14, 2025, following his sentencing in May of the same year.

The timing and reasoning behind the commutation have sparked intense controversy. The White House defended the decision by pointing to GPB Capital’s 2015 disclosure that investor capital might be used to pay distributions—a claim they argue undermines the Ponzi scheme allegations. Critics, however, see this justification as deeply troubling, arguing that the commutation sends the wrong message to fraud victims and undermines confidence in financial accountability. For the 17,000 investors who lost substantial portions of their retirement savings, the commutation feels like adding insult to injury.

GPB Capital: The $1.8 Billion Fraud That Devastated 17,000 Investors

To understand the full impact of Trump’s decision, we need to look at what GPB Capital actually was—and what it became.

Founded in 2013 by David Gentile in New York City, GPB Capital Holdings presented itself as a sophisticated alternative asset management firm. The company’s investment thesis seemed straightforward and appealing: pool investor capital to acquire stakes in automotive dealerships, waste management companies, cold storage facilities, and other stable, cash-generating businesses. In return, investors—many of them retirees and income-seeking individuals—were promised attractive annual distributions of approximately 8% while their principal grew in value.

Over five years, GPB Capital raised an astonishing $1.8 billion from more than 17,000 investors. The firm’s success was built on a network of broker-dealers who marketed GPB’s private placements as safe, conservative investments suitable for retirement portfolios. What could go wrong?

The Ponzi Scheme Unravels

Everything, as it turned out. After a seven-week federal trial in Brooklyn, the truth about GPB Capital’s operations came to light. On August 1, 2024, a jury found David Gentile and Jeffry Schneider—CEO of Ascendant Capital, GPB’s exclusive placement agent—guilty of securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy.

The trial revealed a classic Ponzi scheme wrapped in the veneer of legitimate private equity investment. Rather than generating returns from the portfolio companies they acquired, GPB Capital had been systematically using new investor capital to pay distributions to existing investors. To maintain the illusion of profitability, Gentile and his associates created fraudulent, back-dated “performance guarantees” in 2015 and 2016, artificially inflating the funds’ reported income.

The numbers tell a sobering story: between 2015 and 2018, approximately $100 million in investor capital was misused to maintain the promised distribution rates. Meanwhile, financial troubles were systematically concealed from both investors and regulators. When the house of cards finally collapsed, thousands of investors faced devastating losses—many watching their retirement nest eggs evaporate.

Criminal Sentencing (Before Commutation)

Justice initially appeared to catch up with the perpetrators. In May 2025, U.S. District Judge Rachel P. Kovner handed down substantial prison sentences:

• David Gentile: 7 years in federal prison (later commuted by President Trump in November 2025)
• Jeffry Schneider: 6 years in federal prison (sentence remains in effect)

Jeffrey Lash, a co-conspirator who pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2023, received a sentence of time served. For investors, these sentences represented long-overdue accountability. The subsequent commutation of Gentile’s sentence, however, has left many questioning whether justice will truly be served.

Court-Approved Distribution Plan: $400 Million for Investors

While the criminal case grabbed headlines, a parallel civil process has been quietly working to return money to defrauded investors. This recovery effort represents the best hope for many GPB Capital victims to recoup at least a portion of their losses.

Receivership Conversion Accelerates Recovery

The turning point came in December 2023, when the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York granted the SEC’s critical request to convert the monitorship over GPB Capital into a full receivership. The court appointed Joseph T. Gardemal III as receiver, giving him broad powers to liquidate assets, pursue claims, and distribute funds to investors.

This seemingly technical legal shift had enormous practical implications. A receiver has far greater authority than a monitor to take decisive action, sell assets, and distribute funds. The decision, which was upheld by the Second Circuit in December 2024 despite challenges, marked the moment when investor recovery shifted from theoretical possibility to practical reality.

Initial Distribution Approved

The receivership’s progress exceeded many expectations. On April 9, 2025, Chief Judge Brodie approved a substantial initial distribution of $400 million to investors in three specific funds:

• GPB Automotive Portfolio LP
• GPB Holdings II LP
• GPB Cold Storage LP

The distribution, scheduled for completion by April 29, 2025, represented a significant milestone. However, it’s important to understand that this was just the first step. The receiver retained $719 million for future distributions to other affected investors, recognizing that the liquidation and recovery process would take time.

Recovery Estimates: What Investors Can Expect

Unfortunately, not all GPB Capital investors will see the same recovery rates. The amount you receive depends heavily on which specific fund you invested in, as different funds held different assets with varying values.

A critical caveat: These figures are estimates, not guarantees. Actual recovery amounts may be reduced by several factors that continue to erode the available pool of funds. Ongoing legal costs, receivership administrative expenses, and the complexity of liquidating portfolio companies all take their toll. Perhaps most galling to investors, GPB Capital has already spent approximately $75 million on legal defense costs for Gentile and Schneider during the receivership process—money that came from what was supposed to be protected investor assets.

Controversial Objections by Convicted Executives

If spending $75 million of investor money on their criminal defense wasn’t enough, Gentile and Schneider had more demands. In February 2025, even as they faced imminent prison sentences, the convicted executives filed objections to the receiver’s distribution plan. Their argument? Paying investors would prevent them from recovering even more legal costs beyond the $75 million they’d already consumed.

The audacity of this position didn’t go unnoticed. Industry attorneys and compliance executives condemned the objections as “outrageous” and characterized them as yet another attempt to victimize investors and delay the payments they desperately needed. Despite these last-ditch efforts to preserve their own interests, the court saw through the ploy and approved the distribution plan, making clear that investor recovery would take priority over the convicted executives’ claims.

Timeline of the GPB Capital Collapse

Understanding how GPB Capital went from Wall Street darling to federal criminal case requires tracing the arc of its rise and fall. The timeline reveals a story of escalating warning signs that too many people—including professional financial advisors—chose to ignore.

2013-2018: The Rise and Red Flags

• 2013: David Gentile launches GPB Capital Holdings in New York City with ambitious plans to revolutionize private equity investing
• 2013-2018: The firm hits its fundraising stride, raising $1.8 billion from more than 17,000 investors through an extensive network of broker-dealers
• 2015: GPB allegedly discloses that investor capital might be used for distributions—a disclosure that would later become central to Trump’s commutation rationale
• 2015-2016: Behind the scenes, fraudulent and back-dated “performance guarantees” are created to artificially inflate fund income and maintain the appearance of profitability
• 2018: The music stops. GPB ceases accepting new investments and freezes distributions, leaving investors in limbo

2019: The Unraveling Begins

• June 2019: GPB drops a bombshell, announcing devastating portfolio valuation drops that shatter investor confidence:
  • GPB Automotive Portfolio: -39%
  • GPB Holdings II: -25%
  • Other funds: -25% to -74%
• August 2019: Crowe LLP, GPB’s auditor, resigns in a move that sends alarm bells ringing throughout the industry. The firm cites “unacceptable risks” associated with continuing the audit relationship
• October 2019: The first criminal indictment drops as a CEO is charged with compliance failures
• November 2019: Fidelity Investments, one of the nation’s most respected financial institutions, removes GPB from its platform entirely

2021-2024: Legal Reckoning

• 2021: The full force of federal and state law enforcement descends on GPB Capital, with investigations launched by the FBI, SEC, FINRA, and state agencies
• 2021: New York Attorney General Letitia James files a major lawsuit seeking restitution for New York investors
• November 2021: GPB reaches a $30 million settlement with David Rosenberg over issues related to Prime Automotive Group
• December 2023: The court grants the SEC’s request to convert the monitorship into a full receivership, dramatically accelerating the recovery process
• August 2024: After a seven-week trial, Gentile and Schneider are convicted of securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy

2025: Distribution and Controversy

• January 2025: The receiver files a motion seeking approval of the distribution plan that will return $400 million to investors
• February 2025: In a move that outrages the investment community, the convicted executives object to the distribution plan
• April 2025: The court approves the $400 million initial distribution, prioritizing investor recovery over the convicted executives’ objections
• May 2025: Sentencing day arrives. Gentile receives 7 years; Schneider receives 6 years
• November 14, 2025: Gentile reports to federal prison to begin serving his sentence
• November 26, 2025: Just twelve days later, Gentile walks free after Trump commutes his sentence
• December 2024-Present: The receivership continues its methodical work of liquidating assets and preparing for additional distributions

Regulatory Actions and Broker-Dealer Accountability

While Gentile and Schneider orchestrated the fraud, they didn’t act alone. GPB Capital’s massive scale was only possible because of an extensive network of broker-dealers and financial advisors who marketed these investments to their clients. The question that haunts many investors is simple: how did so many professionals miss—or ignore—the warning signs?

$3.7 Million in FINRA Fines

In 2018, FINRA fined 15 broker-dealers a total of $3.7 million for selling GPB Capital private placements without conducting adequate due diligence. These weren’t small, fly-by-night operations—many were established firms with compliance departments and supervisory systems supposedly designed to protect investors from exactly this type of fraud.

The timing is particularly damning. By 2018, GPB Capital was already missing critical SEC filings and exhibiting numerous red flags that should have prompted serious questions. Yet these firms continued recommending GPB investments to their clients, motivated at least in part by the substantial commissions the investments generated: up to 8% upfront, plus ongoing fees that brought total compensation to a staggering 11.75%.

Broker-Dealers Sanctioned for GPB Sales

The following firms were among those penalized or implicated in GPB Capital sales, creating a roster of financial institutions that failed to protect their clients:

• Ausdal Financial Partners, LLC
• Cabot Lodge Securities, LLC
• Capital Investment Group, LLC
• Colorado Financial Service Corp
• Dawson James Securities, LLC
• DFPG Investments, LLC
• IBN Financial Services, LLC
• International Assets Advisory, LLC
• Money Concepts Capital Corp, LLC
• Pariter Securities, LLC
• SCF Securities, LLC
• Silber Bennett Financial, LLC
• Vestech Securities, LLC
• Western International Securities, LLC
• Axiom Capital Management, LLC

The pattern of failures was remarkably consistent across these firms. According to FINRA’s findings and subsequent investigations, many of these broker-dealers:

• Failed to conduct adequate due diligence on GPB’s financial health, relying instead on marketing materials provided by the company itself
• Recommended unsuitable investments to retirees and unsophisticated investors who should never have been exposed to such risky, illiquid securities
• Downplayed significant risks including the complete lack of liquidity and GPB’s failure to file required SEC financial statements
• Were incentivized by extraordinarily high commissions (11.75% in total fees) that created powerful conflicts of interest and compromised their objectivity

For investors, these failures mean something important: you may have legal claims against the broker-dealer or financial advisor who sold you GPB Capital investments, separate from and in addition to any recovery through the receivership.

GPB Capital Investment Vehicles and Entities

Part of what made GPB Capital so successful at raising money was the sheer variety of investment options it offered. Different funds targeted different sectors and investor profiles, creating an illusion of diversification and sophistication.

Primary Investment Funds

Understanding which fund you invested in is crucial for estimating your potential recovery:

• GPB Automotive Portfolio LP – Focused on automotive dealership acquisitions, capitalizing on the consolidation trend in auto retail
• GPB Holdings LP (Holdings I) – The original diversified private equity fund, investing across multiple sectors
• GPB Holdings II LP – Second-generation diversified fund that has shown the highest recovery rates (90-100% estimated)
• GPB Holdings III LP – Third-generation diversified fund launched as GPB expanded its offerings
• GPB Holdings Qualified LP – Targeted at qualified purchasers (individuals with $5 million+ in investments)
• GPB Cold Storage LP – Invested in cold storage facilities, a niche but supposedly stable sector
• GPB Waste Management LP (formerly Armada Waste Management Fund LP) – Focused on acquiring waste management companies

Related Entities

GPB Capital’s structure extended beyond the primary funds to include various related entities:

• GPB Eurobond Finance PLC – European financing vehicle used for international capital raising
• GPB NYC Development LP – New York City real estate development investments
• GPB Scientific LLC – Healthcare and scientific sector investments
• Ascendant Capital LLC – The exclusive placement agent owned by Jeffry Schneider, which received substantial fees for selling GPB investments

This complex web of entities made it difficult for individual investors—and even their financial advisors—to fully understand the risks and interconnections within the GPB Capital ecosystem.

How GPB Capital Investors Can Recover Losses

If you’re a GPB Capital investor facing substantial losses, you’re probably asking the most important question: what can I do to recover my money? The good news is that you have several potential avenues for recovery. The challenge is understanding which options apply to your specific situation and acting before time runs out.

1. Court-Supervised Receivership Distribution

For many investors, the receivership represents the most straightforward path to at least partial recovery. The court-appointed receiver’s distribution plan is actively working to liquidate GPB assets and return funds to investors.

If you invested in one of the funds included in the initial distribution (GPB Automotive Portfolio, GPB Holdings II, or GPB Cold Storage), you should have already received communications from the receiver regarding your claim. If you haven’t, that’s a red flag—your contact information may be outdated in the receiver’s records.

Action Steps:

• Actively monitor any communications from Receiver Joseph T. Gardemal III (check spam folders regularly)
• Update your contact information with the receivership immediately if you’ve moved or changed email addresses
• Visit the official receivership website regularly: GPB Capital Receivership Portal
• Review the quarterly status reports filed by the receiver to understand the progress of asset liquidation
• Don’t assume everything is being handled automatically—be proactive in confirming your claim is registered

2. FINRA Arbitration Claims Against Broker-Dealers

Here’s what many GPB Capital investors don’t realize: you may be entitled to far more than the partial recovery offered through the receivership. Numerous investors have successfully pursued FINRA arbitration claims against the brokerage firms and financial advisors who sold them these investments, achieving full or near-full recovery of their losses—plus interest and costs.

These claims are based on fundamental failures by your broker-dealer or advisor, including:

Unsuitability: The investment was fundamentally inappropriate for your risk tolerance, age, income needs, and overall financial situation. If you were a retiree looking for safe income, GPB Capital—with its illiquidity, lack of transparency, and high risk—was unsuitable regardless of how it was marketed.

Failure to Conduct Due Diligence: Your broker-dealer had a professional obligation to adequately investigate GPB’s financial condition and risks. Missing audited financial statements, auditor resignations, and regulatory investigations should have raised enormous red flags.

Misrepresentation and Omission: Material facts about GPB’s risks, illiquidity, and financial troubles were not properly disclosed to you. If your advisor told you this was “safe” or comparable to bonds or CDs, that was a misrepresentation.

Breach of Fiduciary Duty: If your advisor prioritized the lucrative commissions (11.75% total) over your best interests, they violated their duty to you.

Critical Questions for Your Claim:

Building a strong FINRA arbitration case requires documenting what your advisor told you and what they failed to disclose. Consider these questions carefully:

• What specific assurances did your advisor provide about GPB Capital’s safety and performance? Did they use words like “safe,” “conservative,” or “low-risk”?
• Were you informed about the 11.75% in fees and commissions that your advisor and their firm would receive?
• Did your advisor disclose that GPB had stopped filing audited financial statements—a massive red flag for any investment?
• Was your advisor aware of the SEC, FINRA, and FBI investigations when they recommended or continued to recommend GPB?
• Were you explicitly told that distributions might come from investor capital rather than legitimate business profits?
• Did your advisor compare GPB to bonds, CDs, or other conservative investments?
• What percentage of your total portfolio was allocated to GPB investments? (Over-concentration is itself a sign of unsuitability)
• Did your advisor have a reasonable basis to believe this illiquid, high-risk investment was appropriate for your financial situation?

Statute of Limitations: Time is not on your side. FINRA arbitration claims typically must be filed within six years of the investment or discovery of the fraud. For early GPB investors (2013-2015), this deadline may be approaching rapidly or may have already passed. This is not the time to procrastinate—consult with a securities attorney immediately to preserve your rights.

3. State Securities Fraud Claims

Depending on where you live and where your advisor was registered, you may have additional remedies under state securities laws. Some states have particularly strong investor protection statutes that provide remedies beyond federal securities laws and FINRA arbitration. An experienced attorney can evaluate whether state law claims might strengthen your case.

4. Class Action and Civil Litigation

Various class action lawsuits have been filed against GPB Capital, its executives, auditors, and other associated parties. While class actions can provide recovery without individual effort, they typically take years to resolve and often result in smaller per-investor recoveries after attorney fees and costs. Additionally, recoveries depend on whatever assets remain available after the receivership distributions.

For most investors, pursuing an individual FINRA arbitration claim against their broker-dealer is likely to yield better results faster than waiting for class action resolution.

Why GPB Capital Investments Were Unsuitable for Most Investors

With the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to see that GPB Capital was a disaster. But even at the time—before the fraud was exposed—these investments had characteristics that should have disqualified them for the vast majority of retail investors.

High-Risk Characteristics

GPB Capital private placements exhibited numerous red flags that should have raised serious concerns for any competent financial advisor:

1. Illiquidity: There was no secondary market for GPB shares. Once you invested, your capital was locked up for years with no ability to access it in emergencies. For retirees and near-retirees, this lack of liquidity was particularly problematic.

2. Lack of Transparency: After 2016, GPB stopped providing audited financial statements—an extraordinary failure for any investment firm managing $1.8 billion. How could investors or advisors properly evaluate the investment without current, audited financials?

3. High Fees: The 11.75% in total fees and commissions created an enormous drag on returns and created powerful conflicts of interest for advisors.

4. Regulatory Scrutiny: Multiple investigations by the SEC, FINRA, and FBI should have been red flags visible to any advisor doing basic due diligence.

5. Auditor Resignation: When Crowe LLP withdrew in 2019, citing “unacceptable risks,” it was essentially screaming that something was seriously wrong. Auditors don’t walk away from lucrative engagements lightly.

6. Valuation Uncertainty: The value of GPB’s portfolio companies was difficult to verify independently, creating opportunities for manipulation and overstatement.

7. Concentration Risk: Heavy exposure to cyclical industries like automotive and waste management meant the funds were vulnerable to economic downturns.

8. Distribution Sustainability: It was never entirely clear whether distributions came from legitimate business profits or investor capital—a fundamental question for any income investment.

Advisor Conflicts of Interest

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the GPB Capital story is how financial advisors’ conflicts of interest compromised their objectivity. The compensation structure was designed to incentivize sales, not protect investors:

• Upfront commissions: Up to 8% of invested capital paid immediately upon sale
• Ongoing fees: Trail commissions and management fees that continued as long as investors held the investment
• Incentive trips and bonuses: Additional rewards for advisors and firms that achieved high sales volumes

When your advisor stood to earn nearly 12% in total fees from recommending GPB Capital versus perhaps 1-2% for recommending mutual funds or ETFs, the conflict of interest was glaring. This doesn’t mean every advisor who recommended GPB was acting in bad faith—but it does mean the financial incentives were deeply misaligned with investor interests.

Legal Representation for GPB Capital Investors

Navigating the complexities of securities fraud recovery isn’t something you should attempt alone. The process requires specialized legal knowledge, familiarity with FINRA procedures, and the ability to effectively gather and present evidence.

Why You Need Specialized Legal Counsel

Recovering losses from GPB Capital investments requires expertise in several specialized areas of law and practice:

• Securities arbitration procedures: FINRA arbitration has its own unique rules, procedures, and customs that differ significantly from court litigation
• Investment fraud law: Understanding federal securities regulations, FINRA rules, and state securities laws
• Suitability standards: Applying FINRA Rule 2111 and Regulation Best Interest to evaluate whether your investment was appropriate
• Evidence gathering and presentation: Knowing what documents matter, how to obtain your complete account records, and how to present testimony effectively
• Negotiation and settlement: Maximizing recovery while minimizing costs and time, recognizing when settlement offers are fair

Haselkorn & Thibaut: Experienced GPB Capital Recovery Attorneys

Haselkorn & Thibaut, P.A. has made investment fraud recovery and securities arbitration our firm’s focus, with particular expertise in complex cases like GPB Capital. We understand what GPB investors are going through because we’ve helped hundreds of investors recover from similar frauds.

What sets our firm apart:

• 50+ years of combined experience in securities litigation and arbitration, giving us deep knowledge of what works
• 95%+ success rate representing clients nationwide, demonstrating our effective approach
• Free case evaluations so you can understand your options without financial risk
• Contingency fee arrangements (no recovery, no fee in most cases), aligning our interests with yours
• Nationwide representation with offices strategically located in Florida, New York, Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina

Contact Information:

• Phone: 1-888-885-7162 (toll-free)
• Free GPB Investors Guide: Comprehensive resource available upon request
• Consultation: No-obligation case review to evaluate your recovery options

What to Bring to Your Consultation

Preparation is key to making the most of your initial consultation. The more organized your documentation, the more accurately we can assess your case. Gather these materials before your call:

1. Account statements showing all GPB Capital purchases, holdings, and current values
2. Trade confirmations for every GPB transaction in your account
3. Private placement memorandums (PPMs) and subscription agreements you signed when investing
4. Communications with your advisor: Emails, letters, handwritten notes from meetings—anything documenting what you were told
5. Account opening documents: New account forms, risk tolerance questionnaires, and financial profiles
6. Distribution statements showing any payments you received from GPB
7. Current valuation statements if available, showing your current account value

Don’t worry if you don’t have everything on this list—we can often help you obtain missing documents. But the more you have at the outset, the faster we can move forward with your claim.