There are also questions about whether Jesenik and other defendants spent the money appropriately. Oliver was originally scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 5, but the sentencing date was moved to Nov.. But prosecutors allege the Aequitas executives lied about the firms financial performance. 2023 RIA Intel, an Institutional Investor Publication. An official website of the United States government. The Oregonian first reported the criminal charges and guilty plea. They are Brian Rice, who formerly headed Key Banks operations in much of Oregon, Andrew MacRitchie, The Scotland native who came to Portland when when Scottish Power purchased PacifiCorp, and N. Scott Gillis, the former chief financial officer. As U.S. Judge Magistrate Paul Papak noted in an October 2017 ruling, at that point 61 percent of the defense cost payments went to Jeseniks lawyers. Brian's experience encompasses a variety of positions across commercial banking, investment banking, alternative asset management, and business advisory services. He pled guilty but has not yet been sentenced.
Waiver of indictment signed and accepted by the Court. Email USAO-OR. He declined to comment. 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. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Lock 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. Investors had been bilked out of hundreds of millions of dollars, the SEC said. 04/19/2019 14 Plea Petition and Order Entering Plea as to Defendant Brian A. Oliver. There was the company that bought bad debt from hospitals for pennies on the dollar and then tried to collect on the debt. U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Oregon, Former Aequitas CEO and Senior Executives Indicted in Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracy, Forsage Founders Indicted in $340M DeFi Crypto Scheme, Russian Cryptocurrency Money Launderer Pleads Guilty, Former Fugitive Wanted in Oregon for Real Estate Scam Pleads Guilty, Former Aequitas CEO and Senior Executives Indicted In Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracy. All rights reserved (About Us). The final judgments prohibit Jesenik, Oliver, and Gillis from serving as officers or directors of any public company. Rice, a longtime Portland banker who eventually became regional president for Key Bank, gave up the big downtown office to join Aequitas in 2014. Have a question about Government Services? Luminaries from the downtown business establishment wanted to join the team. It entered into a deal to buy student loans from Corinthian, the notorious for-profit college. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 5.
Defendant waived reading of the Information. Aequitas investors filed a $350 million class-action lawsuit in April 2016, less than a month after the SEC charged Aequitas Management LLC and four affiliates, as well as three executivesCEO Robert Jesenik, executive vice president Brian Oliver, and CFO and chief operating officer N. Scott Gilliswith hiding the deteriorating financial The company's general counsel just quit. Insight and analysis of top stories from our award winning magazine "Bloomberg Businessweek". 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
Probation. 04/19/2019 10 Minutes of Proceedings: First Appearance on Information and Arraignment held before Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman as to Defendant Brian A. Oliver on 4/19/2019. 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. If you missed the last issue of InvestmentNews, you can access it here. Aequitas was allegedly a fraud on top of another fraud Corinthian Colleges, the scandal ridden for-profit college that went bankrupt in 2015. He was even on the board of the Arlington Club. With love for the 60/40 portfolio fading, 50/30/20 looks to be the cool new kid on the block. Defendant proceeds as named. By the time he left, he was also in charge of Key Banks operations in Washington and Alaska. Attorney Billy J. Williams announced today that Brian A. Oliver,a former owner and executive vicepresident of Aequitas Management, LLC and several other Aequitas . 1000 SW Third Ave Suite 600
Brian received a Bachelor of Science degree from Oregon State University. 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. A lock ( A native of the United Kingdom, he served as the British honorary consul in Portland for several years. 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.. As part of the plea agreement, Oliver has agreed to pay restitution in full to each of victims as determined and ordered by the court. Nevertheless, Papak ruled in favor of Jeseniks request for access to additional insurance funds to cover his defense. All Rights Reserved. Longtime Aequitas No. Oliver was the primary fundraiser for ACF and the Aequitas Funds and a member of the management committees responsible for selecting or approving the investments made with investor . Ledger was the co-founder of Aequitas, which was then a small New York based company that dealt primarily in commercial paper. Rice headed Key Bank in Oregon for 12 years. Attorneys for the District of Oregon. In January 2014, shortly before joining Aequitas, he was named to the Portland board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The high-interest loans were terrible for students. (kms) (Entered: 04/19/2019), Home 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. 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. They agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with the government. 2020 update: Aequitas investors recoup some money. A lock ( Theyve recovered much of that money in a series of civil lawsuits against the professional firms that worked for Aequitas. 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. Scott Bradford is the lead prosecutor on the case. 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. They are also prohibited from violating the SECs antifraud provisions. Then Corinthian went bankrupt. Brian Mariash, James Lowther and their team will operate as Mariash Lowther Wealth Management in Sarasota, Florida. They remain active in their local church as well as volunteer with several other local non-profits, and in their leisure time enjoy hiking and camping in their travel trailer when not otherwise spending time with their two adult children. He will be sentenced on June 27, 2023 by U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon. Rice served as Aequitass executive vice president and president of wealth management. If you need help with finances, they've got that covered. Timothy Laniers firm in Neptune Beach, Florida, focuses on serving doctors and health care executives. Aequitas did make legitimate investments. The agency on Wednesday barred Aequitas partial owner and chief executive Robert Jesenik, 60, partial owner and executive vice president Brian Oliver, 55, and former chief financial officer N. Forgot your password? Brian Oliver and Olaf Janke, former senior Aequitas executives, have in recent months cut plea deals with federal prosecutors. He established and maintained the companys accounting principles, practices, procedures and initiatives, prepared financial reports and presented findings and recommendations to the executive teams, and oversaw all financial functions. RIA Intel is part of Delinian. Oliver also was charged criminally for his conduct and has pled guilty, but has not yet been sentenced. The company's general counsel just quit. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 18:1957 CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MONEY LAUNDERING 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. 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. PORTLAND, Ore.U.S. Oliver is the first former Aequitas Capital executive to be criminally charged. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. President, Cathedral Finance|Senior Advisor. Among his responsibilities, Rice oversaw the solicitation of investments through registered investment advisors (RIA) and managed Aequitass affiliated RIAs. The court appointed receiver now in charge of whats left of Aequitas opposes Rices and MacRitchies request for access to the insurance money. Brian has over 30 years experience in providing corporate finance and consulting solutions to small and medium sized businesses. 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.. The current Aequitas Capital Management lawsuit was brought on by the heirs of Matthew Ledger. Thom Maher is launching a firm, Maher Wealth Management, in Phoenix. Brian Oliver and Olaf Janke, Aequitas chief financial officer before Gillis, pleaded guilty to similar charges. All three are permanently barred from the securities industry. It is being prosecuted by Scott E. Bradford and Ryan W. Bounds, Assistant U.S. Accounting giant Deloitte, stock trader T.D. (Entered: 04/19/2019) MacRitchie was ScottishPowers point man in its efforts to buy Pacificorp and served as an executive vice president there. Over the last few years Cathedral has really provided sage advice as weve been growing our green building companies. Brian Oliver, Aequitas Capital's longtime No. It is being prosecuted by Ryan W. Bounds, Christopher Cardani and Siddharth Dadhich, Assistant U.S. It is being prosecuted by Scott E. Bradford and Ryan W. Bounds, Assistant U.S. Jesenik also must pay a civil penalty of $625,000. Both Rice and MacRitchie have asked the court for access to Aequitas insurance money to cover their defense costs. 2 executive, on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He also established Aequitass New York Office and directed Aequitass Lux Fund, a Luxembourg-based fund used to solicit international investors. Gillis was the second Aequitas chief financial officer. 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 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. Guilty pleas entered as to Counts 1 and 2 of the Information. Federal regulators claimed that Aequitas executives misled investors for years about the companys true financial condition. Brian Oliver, Aequitas Capital's longtime No. 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. I have really enjoyed working with Seth, Brian and the Cathedral team. Brian A Oliver is Exec VP & Pres:Financial Svcs at Aequitas Capital Mgmt Inc. See Brian A Oliver's compensation, career history, education, & memberships. PORTLAND, Ore.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. Subsequent reports detailed Aequitas default on its debt, the resulting panic among investors, the secret conflicts, and the firms strange cultural mashup -- part Wall Street investment bank, part frat party, part Bible class. SEC v. Aequitas Management, LLC; Aequitas Holdings, LLC; Aequitas Commercial Finance, LLC; Aequitas Capital Management, Inc.; Aequitas Investment Management, LLC; Robert J. Jesenik; Brian A. Oliver; and N. Scott Gillis Case Number: 16-cv-00438 (United States District Court for the District of Oregon) Date Filed: March 10, 2016 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. Federal prosecutors have already cut guilty plea deals with two former Aequitas executives. Bob Jesenik and Brian Oliver, the long-time chief executive and second-in-command at the Lake Oswego financial firm, said any misstatements they may have made to investors were simply. Gillis, who was previously indicted for conspiring to submit false statements to a federally insured creditor, was the companys chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Brian and his wife of 30 years live in Aurora, Oregon where they raised their family. | Articles But the defendants have already spent more than $10 million on legal costs, exhausting the first two policies. 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. Despite that advice, on or about January 15, 2016, Gillis signed and, with others, submitted to Wells Fargo an advance notice, requesting that Wells Fargo advance $4.2 million to Aequitas with a false certification that Aequitas was not confronting a potential event of default. Left to right they are Bob Jesenik, Scott Gillis, Craig Froude (not charged with any crime,) Brian Rice, Andrew MacRitchie and Brian Oliver. | Recent Lawyer Listings Section 203(f) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ("Advisers Act") against Brian A. Oliver ("Oliver" or "Respondent"). Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. He was the British honorary consul to Portland. ORDER Presentence Report to be prepared by U.S. 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. PORTLAND, Ore.U.S. They also have people who have helped raise money and sell businesses so they can help with that too. | Advertising All rights reserved (About Us). 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. Three other former Aequitas executives, including a former Portland bank president and a senior utility executive, were also charged. The firm sold more than $300 million worth of private investment notes, mostly through financial advisers. 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. A locked padlock The new indictments bring to six the number of former Aequitas executives charged with defrauding investors. As Aequitas grew, its profile in the community also increased. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. Another was a utility executive who helped change Portlands business landscape. This story was revised on Aug. 21, 2020 to correct some details about Brian Rices professional background. The Oregonian/OregonLive began investigating Aequitas in 2014, when it linked the firm to accusations of predatory student loans at Corinthian. He worked for Portland banks for much of his career before he was named regional president of Key Bank in 2006. (Court Reporter Ryan White) (kms) (Entered: 04/19/2019) On March 16, 2016, pursuant to the Stipulated Interim Order Appointing Receiver, the Receiver was appointed as receiver . 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. 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. A locked padlock He is scheduled to be. 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. Its not just the amount of insurance money that went to Jesenik that concerns the receiver. 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. John Deere boasted record profits in 2021 and finally struck a deal with striking union workers. In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, Respondent has submitted an Offer . But this one was worse. The recent filings indicate several additional Aequitas executives, like Rice and MacRitchie, are in harms way. The Lake Oswego, Ore.-based investment management firm was the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint filed in 2016 alleging that Aequitas defrauded more than 1,500 investors into believing they were putting their money into health care, education and transportation investments when their money was being used primarily in a Ponzi-like fashion. From June 2014 through February 2016, the former executives solicited investors by misrepresenting the companys use of investor money, the financial health and strength of Aequitas and its related companies, and the risks associated with its investments and investment strategies. Government summarized charges and terms of plea agreement. Arraignment held for Defendant Brian A. Oliver on Counts 1 and 2 of the Information.