Trump frees New York private equity executive who defrauded victims of $1.6B
President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence of David Gentile, a private equity executive who was convicted of defrauding thousands of investors in a $1.6 billion scheme.
The former CEO and co-founder of GPB Capital Holdings served less than two weeks of his seven-year sentence when he was released from prison Wednesday, according to The New York Times.
Gentile, 59, and a co-defendant, Jeffry Schneider, were convicted of securities and wire fraud charges in August 2024 and sentenced in May. Schneider, who was sentenced to six years, does not appear to have received clemency from Trump.
In a social media post on Thanksgiving, Trump’s “pardon czar” Alice Marie Johnson said she was “deeply grateful” to see Gentile going home to his young children.
In court filings, prosecutors said that Gentile and Schneider used investor funds to take stakes in companies in the automotive and retail industries. It paid out regular annual distributions to investors from returns on these hold..
