Trump pardons private equity executive convicted of defrauding thousands

President Donald Trump has granted clemency to David Gentile, a private equity executive who was convicted in a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of victims. Gentile, aged 59, received clemency shortly after beginning his seven-year prison sentence and was released from prison, as confirmed by prison records.

Gentile’s conviction will remain on his record, underscoring the severity of the crimes he committed. Alongside his co-defendant, Jeffry Schneider, Gentile was found guilty in August 2024 of multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and securities fraud.

The case against Gentile and Schneider centered on a long-standing fraudulent scheme aimed at deceiving over 10,000 investors. They utilized Gentile’s private equity firm, GPB Capital, to manipulate information regarding the source of the funds and their performance to facilitate monthly distribution payments. Altogether, the GPB funds amassed over $1.6 billion from investors.

In May, Gentile was sentenced to serve seven years in prison, while Schneider received a six-year sentence. Notably, Schneider remains incarcerated at present. Joseph Nocella Jr., the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, emphasized the egregious nature of Gentile and Schneider’s actions, describing their business as built on a “foundation of lies.”

Nocella stated, “The defendants 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. 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.”