Plus, three other Aequitas defendants former second-in-command Brian Oliver and N. Scott Gillis and Olaf Janke, former Aequitas chief financial officers have pleaded guilty to fraud and. Investment adviser: Aequitas lied to investors, hid - oregonlive Until now, Rice and MacRitchie have faced minimal legal expenses. Brians experience encompasses a variety of positions across commercial banking, investment banking, alternative asset management, and business advisory services. | Link Errors Bob Jesenik, the co-founder and face of the defunct Lake Oswego investment firm Aequitas Management, was indicted Tuesday on charges he defrauded hundreds of its former clients. Plea Petition and Plea Agreement signed and accepted by the Court. The complaint also alleges that Aequitas Capital Management Inc. and Aequitas Investment Management LLC violated Sections 206(1), 206(2), and 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-8 thereunder, and that Jesenik, Oliver, and Gillis aided and abetted the violations of Aequitas and the affiliated entities. He committed suicide in an attempt to hide . | Recent Lawyer Listings Realized Launches Game Changing Platform for Direct Real Estate Investment, The CFP Board Calls Out Crypto in Code of Ethics and Standards, Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement. Wealth Management as an industry doesnt understand direct real estate and real estate certainly doesnt understand wealth management, says Realized founder David Wieland. Defendant advised of rights. Court: United States District Court for the District of Oregon (Multnomah County), Plaintiff's Attorney: Scott E. Bradford and Ryan W. Bounds, Defendant's Attorney: Kendra M. Matthews and Whitney Patrick Boise, 18:1341 and 18:1343 CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MAIL AND WIRE FRAUD By the time Corinthian filed for bankruptcy and students went on strike refusing to pay their loans some 75% of the receivables of the Aequitas notes came from the for-profit scam, according to RIA Intels first story on Aequitas. Some money from new investors was allegedly used to pay earlier investors Ledger left the company in 2005 in a highly controversial and public way. Insight and analysis of top stories from our award winning magazine "Bloomberg Businessweek". Gillis was the second Aequitas chief financial officer. According to a Complaint filed on March 10, 2016 in Oregon federal district court, the SEC has brought claims against Aequitas Management, LLC (CRD# 143780/SEC# 801-68039) and three Aequitas executives, Robert J. Jesenik, Brian A. Oliver, and N. Scott Gillis for defrauding investors and for a breach of fiduciary duties. Please sign in or register to comment. This is a company that talked a woman into investing nearly her entire retirement nest-egg -- about half-a-million dollars - in October 2015, Kayser said. A lock ( Gillis was the second Aequitas chief financial officer. Mike Esler, another attorney for Aequitas investors, credited federal prosecutors for sticking with an extremely complex case all the way to the indictment of Aequitas leader Jesenik. Attorney Billy J. Williams announced today that Brian A. Oliver, a former owner and executive vice president of Aequitas Management, LLC and several other Aequitas-related companies has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud and money laundering. 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In addition, it said Gillis agreed to be permanently suspended from appearing and practicing before the SEC as an accountant and cannot work as an auditor for pubic companies. Brian's experience encompasses a variety of positions across commercial banking, investment banking, alternative asset management, and business advisory services. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Jesenik will have to pay $1.57 million in disgorgement, interest and penalties, while Oliver will pay $235,928 in disgorgement and interest, and Gillis will pay a $300,000 civil penalty. Sam Kauffman is MacRitchies attorney. Oliver and his co-conspirators also failed to disclose other critical facts about the company, including its near-constant liquidity and cash-flow crises, the use investor money to repay other investors and to defray operating expenses, and the lack of collateral to secure funds. The company's general counsel just quit. All rights reserved (About Us). In a separate proceeding, the SEC barred the three from the securities industry. PDF United States of America Securities and Exchange Commission Investment This case is being investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration. The company opened slick new offices in New York City. Investors agree to $234.6M in settlements in Aequitas was - Portland Prosecutors claim the Aequitas executives misled company investors about how their money was being used. They agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with the government.. Lock District of Oregon It is free to register and only takes a minute or two. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. AEQUITAS MANAGEMENT, LLC - Leagle CEO Robert Jesenik will have to pay $1.57 million to settle fraud charges, while executive vice president Brian A. Oliver and former CFO N. Scott Gillis will each have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of a consent decree finalized in Oregon federal court on April 13. If the sentencing materials are not received on time or the Court is not advised that none will be filed, the sentencing may be rescheduled. 13. Aequitas Capital Management Lawsuit - Law Meg Bob Jesenik, three other former Aequitas executives - Oregonlive He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 5. Counsel Present for Defendant: Whitney Patrick Boise and Kendra M. Matthews. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Jesenik, a former resident of West Linn, Oregon, is charged in a 32-count indictment with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. SEC Charges Oregon-Based Investment Group and Executives With A lock ( Janke becomes second Aequitas executive to plead guilty; could get He was even on the board of the Arlington Club. Co-founders Bob Jesenik and Brian Oliver had participated in too many sketchy deals for sophisticated Oregon investors to feel comfortable with them. PORTLAND, Ore.U.S. Recently, MacRitchie has incurred defense costs in connection with the DOJ investigation and expects to continue to incur Defense Costs in that matter, his lawyer said in a court filing. He was the British honorary consul to Portland. PORTLAND, Ore.U.S. Aequitas collapsed in 2016 owing about $600 million to investors. SEC bars Aequitas execs after $540m judgement against Oregon firm There was the motorcycle leasing company. Brian has been a Senior Advisor with Cathedral Consulting since 2017. Attorney Billy J. Williams announced today that Brian A. Oliver,a former owner and executive vicepresident of Aequitas Management, LLC and several other Aequitas . After graduating from Oregon State University in 1987 with a degree in Finance and minor in Economics, Brian spent the next 10 years in commercial banking with US Bank before embarking on 20 years in the Investment Banking and Alternative Asset Management industry. SEC v. Aequitas Management, LLC; Aequitas Holdings, LLC; Aequitas For 23 years, Brian Oliver was the classic second-in-command at Aequitas Management LLC, the earnest, low-key straight arrow to the company's colorful alpha-dog CEO Bob Jesenik. brian oliver, aequitas brian oliver, aequitas Home Realizacje i porady Bez kategorii brian oliver, aequitas Aequitas finances were already spiraling down, and the worse they got, the more student debt the firm bought from Corinthian. Rice, a longtime Portland banker who eventually became regional president for Key Bank, gave up the big downtown office to join Aequitas in 2014. The firm sold more than $300 million worth of private investment notes, mostly through financial advisers. The high-interest loans were terrible for students. Brian Oliver - Technical Specialist - BCX | ZoomInfo Brian Rice and Scott Gillis, two of the company's six senior partners, resigned in recent weeks. 0. It was actually a giant Ponzi scheme, they said, in which the company relied on money from new investors to repay the old. The new indictments bring to six the number of former Aequitas executives charged with defrauding investors. Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world. (Entered: 04/19/2019) Five of the six senior Aequitas executives have been charged with federal crimes or have pleaded guility. Have a question about Government Services? He declined to comment. Greenspan uncovered a remarkable email exchange between Aequitas co-founder Brian Oliver and Andrew MacRitchie, the firm's one-time chief compliance officer, which seems to indicate they were. Among his responsibilities, Rice oversaw the solicitation of investments through registered investment advisors (RIA) and managed Aequitass affiliated RIAs. (Tape #FTR-9B) (gw) (Entered: 04/19/2019) Attorneys for the District of Oregon. At a hearing in U.S. District Court on Monday, Janke confirmed that as part of his plea agreement, he would oppose any sentence of less than three years. Counsel Present for the Government: Scott E. Bradford and Ryan W. Bounds. Aequitas also had tentacles spread throughout the RIA world. (2), Outcome: 04/19/2019 9 Order Setting Conditions of Release as to Defendant Brian A. Oliver. Brian Rice and Andrew MacRitchie left their corporate posts for jobs at Aequitas Capital. Gillis faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, an $8.4 million fine, and five years supervised release. Ameritrade and big law firms like Sidley Austin gave the local operation a sheen of legitimacy. The Government does not seek detention and Defendant is released on conditions. The firm was growing quickly, it did business with some of the best-known investment advisors in the country, it claimed to have more than $1 billion under management. He argues he needs the money to help defray losses suffered by Aequitas investors. Aequitas Management LLC and four affiliates allegedly defrauded more than 1,500 investors nationwide into believing they were making health care, education, and transportation-related investments when their money was really being used in a last-ditch effort to save the firm. Rueben Iniguez, a lawyer in the federal defenders office in Portland, is representing Jesenik. Six months later, on or about June 30, 2015, Gillis signed an amended loan agreement with Wells Fargo on Aequitass behalf. Federal regulators claimed that Aequitas executives misled investors for years about the companys true financial condition. Oliver faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or twice the gross monetary gains or losses resulting from his crimes, and three years supervised release. Brian Oliver President, Cathedral Finance | Senior Advisor Brian has over 30 years experience in providing corporate finance and consulting solutions to small and medium sized businesses. Defendant sworn and examined. SEC Posts Notice of Covered Action Regarding Case Against Aequitas II. A Salem, Oregon man pleaded guilty today for using Twitter to threaten violence against employees of Robinhood Markets, Inc., an online financial services company based in Menlo Park, California. This story was revised on Aug. 21, 2020 to correct some details about Brian Rices professional background. Its not just the amount of insurance money that went to Jesenik that concerns the receiver. An official website of the United States government. A federal grand jury in the District of Oregon returned an indictment today charging four founders of Forsage, a purportedly decentralized finance (DeFi) cryptocurrency investment platform, for their roles in On February 6, 2023, a Russian cryptocurrency money launderer previously extradited from the Netherlands to face charges in the District of Oregon pleaded guilty in federal court. 2 executive, on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Attorneys in Aequitas Capital fraud case spar over Oregon regulator who 04/19/2019 11 Waiver of Indictment by Brian A. Oliver (schm) (Entered: 04/19/2019) A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Prosecutors' wide net: Prominent Portland executives sucked into As part of the final consent judgment, the defendants are prohibited from soliciting anyone to purchase or sell a security and prohibiting them from participating in the issuance, offer, or sale of any security of an entity they control, the SECs release stated. Not guilty pleas and denial of forfeiture allegation entered. 1000 SW Third Ave Suite 600 Rice, former president of Key Bank of Oregon, acknowledged in recent court filings that he is a target in the case. Nelson Scott Gillis, 69, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to a bank. An official website of the United States government. They've got that too. Section 203(f) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ("Advisers Act") against Brian A. Oliver ("Oliver" or "Respondent"). Oliver was also charged criminally for his conduct. Bob Jesenik has not been criminally charged. All three are permanently barred from the securities industry. SEC files Complaint against Aequitas Management - Fishman Haygood CEO Robert Jesenik will have to pay $1.57 million to settle fraud charges, while executive vice president Brian A. Oliver and former CFO N. Scott Gillis will each have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of a consent decree finalized in Oregon federal court on April 13. In a separate administrative proceeding, Jesenik, Oliver, and Gillis were barred from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical ratings organization, the SEC said. Between 2011 and 2014, Aequitas purchased more than $561 million in student loan debt, almost all of which was with Corinthian. Lock Oliver also was charged criminally for his conduct and has pled guilty, but has not yet been sentenced. But it appears they are far from done. Theyve got a team that really loves entrepreneurship and is equipped with different skill sets. Brian provides Cathedral particular expertise in leading Merger & Acquisition transactions and arranging Corporate Finance solutions for its clients, after having been involved in extensive transactions of all sizes throughout his career. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. They also have people who have helped raise money and sell businesses so they can help with that too. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. According to court documents, Aequitas created and operated investment funds that purchased trade receivables in education, health care, transportation, and other consumer credit areas. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. On or about January 12, 2015, Aequitas entered into a loan agreement with Wells Fargo to establish a $100 million line of credit. The Aequitas entities, which are in receivership, will have to pay $540 million in disgorgement and interest as part of the final judgment. Sentencing materials are due no later than 7/31/2019. It is believed that since he was ousted from Aequitas, Jesenik has been.