US President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence of former investment manager David Gentile, who was convicted of defrauding investors of $1.6billion. Gentile, a Scientologist, reported to prison on Friday, November 14, just days before Trump commuted his sentence, according to a White House official who requested anonymity to provide details of the clemency action. He was set free on Wednesday, November 26, spending only 12 total days in jail. Adam Gana, a lawyer representing those defrauded by GPB in arbitration, was irate and said Gentile's case should be beyond politics. The stories that we've heard are just heartbreaking, and it's just unbelievable that somebody like that would receive a commutation. This is not a case that should be political. This guy belongs in prison,' he told The New York Times. Gentile had been the CEO and co-founder of GPB Capital, which had raised $1.6 billion in capital to acquire companies in the auto, retail, health care, and housing sectors. He and his partner, Jeffry Schneider, were accused of cheating more than 17,000 retail investors who were falsely promised an eight percent return on their investments.
He had been sentenced to seven years in prison after an August 2024 conviction for his role in what the Justice Department at the time described as a scheme to defraud more than 10,000 investors by misrepresenting the performance of three private equity funds. 'The stories that we've heard are just heartbreaking, and it's just unbelievable that somebody like that would receive a commutation. This is not a case that should be political. This guy belongs in prison,' he told The New York TimesThere were over 1,000 victim statements submitted to the court at Gentile's trial. 'I lost my whole life savings. I am living from check to check,' wrote one.
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