Trump Frees GPB Capital Founder Jailed For Defrauding Thousands In $1.6 Billion Scheme

Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of a private equity executive who defrauded thousands of investors in a $1.6 billion scheme.

David Gentile, the founder and former CEO of GPB Capital, was sentenced to seven years in prison in May this year after being convicted by a jury in August 2024.

Gentile, 59, and Jeffry Schneider, the former CEO of Ascendant Capital, were involved in a multi-year scheme to defraud more than 10,000 investors.

The pair misrepresented the performance of three GPB Capital private equity funds and the source of funds used to make monthly distribution payments to investors, raising about $1.6 billion.

Gentile, who was convicted of securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and wire fraud conspiracy, had only reported to prison on November 14 of this year.

On Thanksgiving, Trump’s pardon czar, Alice Marie Johnson, shared a post on X saying her heart was full “after seeing so many people finally return home to their families.”

The list of those who have had sentences commuted included Gentile, with Johnson writing she was “deeply grateful” to see him “heading home to his young children.”

“These are miracles of mercy, and each one reminds us of the extraordinary power of second chances,” Johnson said.

In a statement after the pair were sentenced in May this year, Joseph Nocella, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said Gentile and Schneider built GPB Capital on a foundation of lies.

“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,” he said.

“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.

“My Office is committed to protecting the investing public and the integrity of the financial markets.”

While the DOJ, then under the Biden administration, said that Gentile and Schneider’s actions constituted a Ponzi scheme, a White House official has now disagreed.

The anonymous official told Reuters that the 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,” they added.

"Mr. Gentile also raised serious concerns that the government had elicited false testimony and failed to correct such testimony."

In June, prosecutors urged the court to order Gentile to forfeit more than $15.5 million and Schneider more than $12 million.

Then, in a letter submitted to the judge in September, prosecutors noted that the court-appointed receiver had access to more than $700 million, which they said would likely be returned to investors.

It is unclear whether Gentile’s commutation will affect any of the financial penalties, and as of December 1, the grant of clemency had not been publicly posted on the DOJ website.