Trump frees former GPB Capital CEO after Biden admin’s Ponzi scheme sentence

By Matt Tracy

Nov 30 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump commuted the seven-year sentence of former GPB Capital Holdings CEO David Gentile on Sunday, as a White House official countered the Biden administration’s allegations that led to Gentile’s conviction last year.

Founded in 2013, GPB Capital Holdings used investor funds to acquire stakes in automotive, retail and other types of companies. It made regular annual distributions to investors from the returns on these assets.

Former President Joe Biden’s Justice Department convicted then-CEO Gentile of securities fraud in August 2024 after an eight-week trial, saying GPB’s use of investor capital to pay for those revenues rather than raising funds from its existing operations constituted a Ponzi scheme. Gentile was sentenced in May.

Following news of Gentile’s sentence being commuted, a White House official told Reuters that the Biden administration’s Ponzi scheme allegation was “deeply shaken by the fact that GPB clearly told investors what was going to happen.”

“At the hearing, the government was unable to attribute any allegedly false statements to Mr. Gentile,” said a White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the matter.

“⁠Mr. Gentile also expressed serious concerns that the government obtained false statements and failed to correct them.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(‌Reporting by Matt Tracy in Washington, DC;‌ Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)