More Bad News for GPB Capital Investors

According to a press announcement, an indictment was unsealed today in federal court charging Michael S. Cohn, Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer of GPB Capital Holdings, LLC (GPB), with obstruction of justice, unauthorized computer access and unauthorized disclosure of confidential information.

Cohn, a former employee of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), was reportedly arraigned this morning and released on a $250,000 bond.

According to the FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney, “When Cohn left the SEC to join GPB, he left with more than his own career ambitions. The proprietary information he allegedly retrieved—from databases he wasn’t authorized to access—included compromising information about a GPB investigation and sensitive details related to the same.”

In approximately October 2018, Cohn reportedly left the SEC to join GPB Capital, a New York private equity firm that reportedly manages over $1.5 billion in assets and is currently under investigation by the FBI and securities regulators.

According to the US Attorney’s office, Cohn allegedly accessed information on SEC servers relating to an Enforcement Division investigation into GPB while he was purportedly still employed with the SEC. This highly sensitive material, which included “confidential information, privileged attorney-client work product and contacts with law enforcement and other regulatory agencies,” was purportedly not information that Cohn was authorized to access.

During discussions with GPB personnel about obtaining a job there, Cohn purportedly advised them that he had inside information about the SEC’s investigation, and on several occasions he allegedly disclosed information to members of GPB’s senior management about that investigation, according to the press announcement.

If convicted, Cohn reportedly faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment on the obstruction of justice count, a maximum of five years’ imprisonment on the unauthorized computer access count and a maximum of one year imprisonment on the unauthorized computer disclosure count, according to reports.

Recovery of Investment Losses

The White Law Group continues its investigation into the liability that FINRA-registered broker-dealers may have for recommending GPB Capital offerings to investors.

In June 2019, the firm reportedly announced that some GPB Capital offerings share prices declined as much as 73%. Investors are still waiting for updated financial statements in two of the largest funds that are now a year past due.

Private Placement investments such as GPB offerings are highly complex, high risk investments. They are only suitable for sophisticated, accredited investors and institutions.

If you are concerned about your GPB Capital losses, please call the securities attorneys at The White Law Group for a free consultation at 888-637-5510.

This information is all publicly available and provided to you by The White Law Group.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Franklin, Tennessee.  For more information on the firm and its representation of investors, visit http://whitesecuritieslaw.com.