Trump commutes prison sentence for this former executive convicted of Ponzi-like scheme

"Gentile had been the CEO and co-founder of GPB Capital, which had raised $1.6 billion in capital to acquire companies in the auto, retail, health care and housing sectors. He had been sentenced to seven years in prison after an August 2024 conviction for his role in what the Justice Department at the time described as a scheme to defraud more than 10,000 investors by misrepresenting the performance of three private equity funds."

"President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence of former investment manager David Gentile, who was convicted of defrauding investors - the latest in a series of clemency actions Trump has taken in white-collar criminal cases.Gentile had reported to prison on Nov. 14, just days before Trump commuted his sentence, according to a White House official who requested anonymity to provide details of the clemency action."

"But the White House official said GPB Capital had disclosed to investors in 2015 that their capital might go to pay dividends to other investors, which the White House said undercut claims that the company had engaged in a "Ponzi" scheme in which new investments are used to reimburse previous investors. The government has agreed to no restitution in the criminal case, though various civil cases are handling repayments and damages to investors."

President Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence of former GPB Capital CEO and co-founder David Gentile. Gentile reported to prison on Nov. 14, days before the commutation. GPB Capital raised $1.6 billion to acquire companies across several sectors. Gentile was convicted in August 2024 and sentenced to seven years after the Justice Department described a scheme that misrepresented the performance of three private equity funds and defrauded more than 10,000 investors. The White House noted a 2015 GPB disclosure that capital might pay dividends to other investors, arguing that undercut Ponzi claims. No criminal restitution was agreed; civil cases handle repayments and damages.

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