Trump Frees Executive Who Defrauded Thousands

President Trump has commuted the sentence of David Gentile, setting the private equity executive free after serving less than two weeks of a seven-year prison term for his role in a $1.6 billion fraud scheme. Gentile was convicted in August 2024, alongside co-defendant Jeffry Schneider, on securities and wire fraud charges and sentenced in May. Prosecutors said they used private equity funds controlled by Gentile's firm, GPB Capital, to defraud about 10,000 investors. US attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said the sentences were "a warning to would-be fraudsters that seeking to get rich by taking advantage of investors gets you only a one-way ticket to jail." Gentile, 59, reported to prison on Nov. 14 and was released Wednesday, the New York Times reports.

The commutation, unlike a pardon, does not erase the conviction. Schneider, who received a six-year sentence, has not been granted clemency. Prosecutors for the Eastern District of New York, said Gentile and Schneider misrepresenting fund performance and used investor capital to make distribution payments, creating a false appearance of profitability. Victims, described as "hardworking, everyday people" including small-business owners and veterans, submitted over 1,000 statements detailing their losses. One investor wrote, "I lost my whole life savings. I am living from check to check." A White House official defended Trump's commutation to Reuters.

The claim by the Justice Department during the Biden administration of a Ponzi scheme was "profoundly undercut by the fact that GPB had explicitly told investors what would happen," the official said. "At trial, the government was unable to tie any supposedly fraudulent representations to Mr. Gentile." It's not clear whether the commutation will affect financial penalties, per the Times. In June, prosecutors sought forfeitures of more than $15.5 million from Gentile and $12 million from Schneider, and a court-appointed receiver has access to over $700 million for potential distribution to investors. Civil claims against GPB Capital are ongoing. Adam Gana, an attorney for investors, criticized the release of Gentile, saying, "This guy belongs in prison."