Guilty pleas entered as to Counts 1 and 2 of the Information. II. 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. 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. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Brian Rice and Scott Gillis, two of the company's six senior partners, resigned in recent weeks. It began to default on the interest payments owed its legion of mom and pop investors. Aequitas specialized in debt. Bob Jesenik, three other former Aequitas executives - Oregonlive Attorney Billy J. Williams announced today that Brian A. Oliver,a former owner and executive vicepresident of Aequitas Management, LLC and several other Aequitas . PDF United States of America Securities and Exchange Commission Investment A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. AEQUITAS MANAGEMENT, LLC - Leagle District of Oregon | Former Aequitas Senior Executive and Chief Email USAO-OR. Aequitas collapsed in 2016 owing about $600 million to investors. If convicted on all charges, each of the defendants could face decades in prison and millions of dollars in fines and restitution, as well as five years supervised release following their prison terms. Investment adviser: Aequitas lied to investors | The Seattle Times Aequitas Capital Management Lawsuit - Law Meg Email USAO-OR. The company's general counsel just quit. 1000 SW Third Ave Suite 600 Learn more about reprints and licensing for this article. PORTLAND, Ore.U.S. An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Rice headed Key Bank in Oregon for 12 years. 2 executive, on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Attorney Billy J. Williams announced today that Robert J. Jesenik, 61, a former chief executive officer of Aequitas Management, LLC and several other Aequitas-owned entities, has been indicted along with three other former company executives for their roles in a fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Over the last few years Cathedral has really provided sage advice as weve been growing our green building companies. Longtime Aequitas No. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Brian Rice and Scott Gillis, two of the company's six senior partners, resigned in recent weeks. 04/19/2019 13 Plea Agreement as to Brian A. Oliver (kms) (Entered: 04/19/2019) Jesenik founded the Aequitas group of companies, and, as chief executive officer, controlled the organizations structure and had ultimate decision-making authority over company activities. Defendant advised of rights. Defunct Aequitas misled investors, cooked books, ran Ponzi - oregonlive Jesenik also must pay a civil penalty of $625,000. I have really enjoyed working with Seth, Brian and the Cathedral team. The SEC alleges that CEO Robert J. Jesenik and executive vice president Brian A. Oliver were well aware of the firm's dire financial status but continued to solicit hundreds of millions of dollars in investments to stave off the firm's complete collapse. Chris Kayser, a Portland lawyer who represented 120 people who had invested in Aequitas, saw firsthand how unsophisticated investors were taken advantage of. (Tape #FTR-9B) (gw) (Entered: 04/19/2019) He is scheduled to be. A lock ( By the time he left, he was also in charge of Key Banks operations in Washington and Alaska. 04/19/2019 11 Waiver of Indictment by Brian A. Oliver (schm) (Entered: 04/19/2019) Nelson Scott Gillis, 69, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to a bank. It was the beginning of the end for the high-flying company. The sentencing for former Aequitas Capital executive Brian Oliver has been moved again. Between 2011 and 2014, Aequitas purchased more than $561 million in student loan debt, almost all of which was with Corinthian. They also have people who have helped raise money and sell businesses so they can help with that too. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Marketing? Defendant sworn and examined. 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. Main Office: 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Six months later, on or about June 30, 2015, Gillis signed an amended loan agreement with Wells Fargo on Aequitass behalf. Counsel Present for the Government: Scott E. Bradford and Ryan W. Bounds. Rice, a longtime Portland banker who eventually became regional president for Key Bank, gave up the big downtown office to join Aequitas in 2014. He was the British honorary consul to Portland. Aequitas Capital No. 2 Brian Oliver pleads guilty to criminal charges Brian Oliver, Aequitas Capital's longtime No. The Aequitas entities, Jesenik, and Gillis consented to the entry of final judgment without admitting or denying the SECs allegations. In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, Respondent has submitted an Offer . Email USAO-OR. ORDER Presentence Report to be prepared by U.S. 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. 2 executive Brian Oliver pleaded guilty to the same charges in April. 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Bob Jesenik has not been criminally charged. Ledger was the co-founder of Aequitas, which was then a small New York based company that dealt primarily in commercial paper. They agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with the government. 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. Sentencing is set for 8/5/2019 at 9:00AM in Portland before Judge Michael W. Mosman. Brian Oliver and Olaf Janke, Aequitas chief financial officer before Gillis, pleaded guilty to similar charges. Oliver was also charged criminally for his conduct. Other funds went to pay their salaries. MacRitchie oversaw all Aequitas accounting, legal, and audit functions, and participated in fundraising. If you missed the last issue of InvestmentNews, you can access it here. 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. B. Sentencing materials are due no later than 7/31/2019. Re: United States of America v. Brian A. Oliver - MoreLaw Claim Data and Trends - EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants The current Aequitas Capital Management lawsuit was brought on by the heirs of Matthew Ledger. Ledger left the company in 2005 in a highly controversial and public way. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. A locked padlock 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. Youve missed the point, Anxiety over tax refunds on the rise, Bankrate.com study shows, Gensler steps up warnings to money managers. Five of the six senior Aequitas executives have been charged with federal crimes or have pleaded guility. The Aequitas entities, which are in receivership, will have to pay $540 million in disgorgement and interest as part of the final judgment. Neither were charged when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shut Aequitas down and filed a civil lawsuit in March 2016. 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? Rice acknowledged in court filings that he's a suspect in the case. PORTLAND, Ore.A former senior executive and chief financial officer of Aequitas Management, LLC, and several other entities formerly owned by Aequitas, pleaded guilty today to submitting a false statement to an Aequitas creditor to obtain a $4.2 million loan for the now-defunct company. Not guilty pleas and denial of forfeiture allegation entered. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. President, Cathedral Finance|Senior Advisor. Aequitas borrowed funds from other financial institutions, including Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., to purchase these trade receivables. Accounting giant Deloitte, stock trader T.D. Co-founders Bob Jesenik and Brian Oliver had participated in too many sketchy deals for sophisticated Oregon investors to feel comfortable with them. Brian A. Oliver, age 51, resides in Aurora, Oregon. Then Corinthian went bankrupt. Once a high-flying Lake Oswego . Investors had been bilked out of hundreds of millions of dollars, the SEC said. Aequitas was allegedly a fraud on top of another fraud Corinthian Colleges, the scandal ridden for-profit college that went bankrupt in 2015. Aequitas Management, LLC, et al. (Release No. LR-23485; March 11, 2016) It is believed that since he was ousted from Aequitas, Jesenik has been. All Rights Reserved. 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. Gillis was charged alongside former Aequitas CEO Robert J. Jesenik, 62, of West Linn, Oregon, and former Aequitas executives Brian K. Rice, 55, of Portland, and Andrew N. MacRitchie, 56, formerly of Palm Harbor, Florida. Brian has over 30 years experience in providing corporate finance and consulting solutions to small and medium sized businesses. Investors agree to $234.6M in settlements in Aequitas was - Portland The company had three policies each for $5 million of coverage. Sentencing for No. 2 Aequitas executive Brian Oliver moved to February Signed on 4/19/2019 by Judge Michael W. Mosman. That has changed as the criminal case nears the indictment stage. Counsel Present for Plaintiff: Scott Bradford, Ryan Bounds. The default came to attention of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which sued Aequitas in March 2016 and got the company shut down.