An official website of the United States government. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS | Sign In, Verdict Corrections Lock In January 2014, shortly before joining Aequitas, he was named to the Portland board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. In what could be the largest settlement of a securities lawsuit in Oregon history, settlements of at least $234.6 million have been secured for some 1,600 investors in a class action against third. | Articles Other funds went to pay their salaries. U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Oregon, Criminal conspiracy could have cost investors more than $600 million, Former Aequitas Owner and Executive Vice President Pleads Guilty in Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracy, Salem Man Pleads Guilty for Using Twitter to Threaten Violence Against Robinhood Employees, FBI and Partners Issue National Public Safety Alert on Financial Sextortion Schemes, Armed Robbery Crew Posing as DEA Agents Charged in Federal Court, Former Aequitas Owner and Executive Vice President Pleads Guilty In Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracy. Worse, regulators from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the state Department of Justice began taking a hard look at the colleges agreement with Aequitas. On or about January 12, 2015, Aequitas entered into a loan agreement with Wells Fargo to establish a $100 million line of credit. PORTLAND, Ore.U.S. The court appointed receiver now in charge of whats left of Aequitas opposes Rices and MacRitchies request for access to the insurance money. B. Brian Oliver - Senior Advisor & President, Cathedral Finance - Cathedral Consulting | LinkedIn Brian Oliver At Cathedral we help entrepreneurs with momentum build value in their business. 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. MacRitchie oversaw all Aequitas accounting, legal, and audit functions, and participated in fundraising. (Entered: 04/19/2019) View limitations & usage restriction, Breaking news, analysis and cutting edge commentary from our award-winning team and leading industry voices, The latest news and other relevant content from selected Citywire partners. 2 executive, on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. | Editor The Aequitas entities, which are in receivership, will have to pay $540 million in disgorgement and interest as part of the final judgment. The recent filings indicate several additional Aequitas executives, like Rice and MacRitchie, are in harms way. Collectively, the defendants also failed to disclose other critical facts about the company, including its near-constant liquidity and cash-flow crises, the use of investor money to repay other investors and to defray operating expenses, and the lack of collateral to secure funds. Oliver is the 25% owner of Aequitas Management and an Executive Vice President of the Entity Defendants. Brian Rice and Scott Gillis, two of the company's six senior partners, resigned in recent weeks. Federal prosecutors have already cut guilty plea deals with two former Aequitas executives. Waiver of indictment signed and accepted by the Court. The third policy is now being consumed even though the criminal case is just getting underway and the pool of potential defendants is expanding. Neither were charged when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shut Aequitas down and filed a civil lawsuit in March 2016. Insight and analysis of top stories from our award winning magazine "Bloomberg Businessweek". Aequitas was allegedly a fraud on top of another fraud Corinthian Colleges, the scandal ridden for-profit college that went bankrupt in 2015. 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. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Also charged are Nelson Scott Gillis, 67, of Lake Oswego, Oregon; Brian K. Rice, 54, of Portland; and Andrew N. MacRitchie, 56, formerly of Palm Harbor, Florida. Defendant advised of rights. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Oliver is the first former Aequitas Capital executive to be criminally charged. On August 11, 2020, the U.S. Attorneys Officeannounced that Gillis had been charged in a 34-count indictment with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. 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. 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. The company opened slick new offices in New York City. It is being prosecuted by Scott E. Bradford and Ryan W. Bounds, Assistant U.S. As previously reported by RIA Intel, Aequitas claimed to manage $1.67 billion before it collapsed, which would likely make its downfall Oregons biggest-ever investment scandal. 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. Brian Oliver, Aequitas Capital's longtime No. 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. 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. MacRitchie was the companys executive vice president and chief compliance officer. Use of editorial content without permission is strictly prohibited|All rights reserved, Securities and Exchange Commission complaint filed in 2016, Aequitas meltdown underscores the importance of due diligence, caution, Fintech Bytes: RBC selects Vestwell, Riskalyze partners with Opto, Morgan Stanley ESG ETFs get the cold shoulder, HSA participants fail to take full advantage of tax trifecta, Investors keep dumping Blackstone REIT shares, Striving to win at compassion? 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. If you need help with finances, they've got that covered. Rice included in his court filings a copy of an April 23 letter from the U.S. Attorneys office in Portland informing him that you are a subject of a federal criminal investigation concerning fraud that occurred at Aequitas.. This case is being investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration. Both Rice and MacRitchie were high-profile Portland executives before joining Aequitas. This special highlights the best of the fifth annual event which was held in Singapore from November 14-17. Oliver also was charged criminally for his conduct and has pled guilty, but has not yet been sentenced. Youve missed the point, Anxiety over tax refunds on the rise, Bankrate.com study shows, Gensler steps up warnings to money managers. | Privacy Statement. The SECs complaint alleged that Jesenik and Oliver were aware of Aequitass calamitous financial condition yet continued to solicit millions of dollars from investors to pay the firms ever-increasing expenses and attempt to stave off the impending collapse of the business. It added that Gillis allegedly concealed the firms insolvency from investors and was aware that Jesenik and Oliver continued soliciting investors so that Aequitas could pay operating expenses and repay earlier investors with money from new investors.. Email USAO-OR. Brian A. Oliver, a former owner and executive vice president of Aequitas Management, LLC and several other Aequitas-related companies pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud and money laundering. 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. Please read our Terms and Conditions, Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement, and Privacy Policy before using the site. Advisors providing advice on cryptocurrency-related assets should do so with caution, according to a new report by the CFP Board. Portland, Oregon 97204 Sam Kauffman is MacRitchies attorney. By that time, it was clear to Aequitas executives the company was in deep financial trouble., Kayser added. There was no more hiding the fact that Aequitas was broke. Attorney Billy J. Williams announced today that Olaf Janke, a former owner and chief financial officer of Aequitas Management, LLC and several other Aequitas-owned entities, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud and money laundering. There was the company that bought bad debt from hospitals for pennies on the dollar and then tried to collect on the debt. Official websites use .gov Secure .gov websites use HTTPS All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. Rice headed Key Bank in Oregon for 12 years. 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. 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. Six months later, on or about June 30, 2015, Gillis signed an amended loan agreement with Wells Fargo on Aequitass behalf. It is free to register and only takes a minute or two. The company's general counsel just quit. Nelson Scott Gillis, 69, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to a bank. As part of their plea agreements, they have both agreed to pay restitution in full to their victims as determined and ordered by the court. Once a high-flying Lake Oswego . Longtime Aequitas No. They both opted not to talk. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 5. On January 26, 2023, a California man who evaded federal authorities for more than two decades after being convicted at trial and who was wanted in District of Oregon for District of Oregon
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