Aequitas did make legitimate investments. There was the commercial lender. 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. The Aequitas entities, which are in receivership, will have to pay $540 million in disgorgement and interest as part of the final judgment. 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. There was the company that bought bad debt from hospitals for pennies on the dollar and then tried to collect on the debt. By that time, it was clear to Aequitas executives the company was in deep financial trouble., Kayser added. 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. Its not just the amount of insurance money that went to Jesenik that concerns the receiver. Both Rice and MacRitchie were high-profile Portland executives before joining Aequitas. Email USAO-OR. According to court documents, Oliver, 54, of Aurora, Oregon, and unnamed co-conspirators used the Lake Oswego, Oregon, based company to solicit investments in a variety of notes and funds, many of which were purportedly backed by trade receivables in education, health care, transportation, and other consumer credit areas. By late 2015, Aequitas was suffering one of its periodic cash flow crises. Former Aequitas Owner and Executive Vice President . Luminaries from the downtown business establishment wanted to join the team. Brian Oliver, Aequitas Capital's longtime No. Claim Data and Trends - EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants 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). They agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with the government. Timothy Laniers firm in Neptune Beach, Florida, focuses on serving doctors and health care executives. Brian A Oliver is Exec VP & Pres:Financial Svcs at Aequitas Capital Mgmt Inc. See Brian A Oliver's compensation, career history, education, & memberships. They hurt a whole lot of people.. His attorneys have submitted bills for at least 2.7 million, far more than any other defendant. It is being prosecuted by Scott E. Bradford and Ryan W. Bounds, Assistant U.S. Brian Oliver - Senior Advisor & President, Cathedral Finance In the shadow of a turbulent future, The Bloomberg New Economy Forum brought together world leaders for face-to-face discussions on the global threats we face. Bob Jesenik has not been criminally charged. Get started today before this once in a lifetime opportunity expires. Brian A. Oliver, age 51, resides in Aurora, Oregon. Wealth Management as an industry doesnt understand direct real estate and real estate certainly doesnt understand wealth management, says Realized founder David Wieland. A lock ( Youve missed the point, Anxiety over tax refunds on the rise, Bankrate.com study shows, Gensler steps up warnings to money managers. ORDER granting the Government's oral motion to unseal the case. Learn more about reprints and licensing for this article. Have a question about Government Services? | Link Errors PORTLAND, Ore.U.S. Counsel Present for Defendant: Whitney Patrick Boise and Kendra M. Matthews. The high-interest loans were terrible for students. If you need help with finances, they've got that covered. Defendant advised of rights. He declined to comment. 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.. B. Rice acknowledged in court filings that he's a suspect in the case. Brian Oliver and Olaf Janke, former senior Aequitas executives, have in recent months cut plea deals with federal prosecutors. 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. Oliver faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or twice the gross monetary gains or losses resulting from his crimes, and three years supervised release. | Advertising But prosecutors allege the Aequitas executives lied about the firms financial performance. Attorney Billy J. Williams announced today that Brian A. Oliver,a former owner and executive vicepresident of Aequitas Management, LLC and several other Aequitas . Brian Oliver - Senior Advisor & President, Cathedral Finance - Cathedral Consulting | LinkedIn Brian Oliver At Cathedral we help entrepreneurs with momentum build value in their business. Defendant waived reading of the Information. Main Office: Aequitas was allegedly a fraud on top of another fraud Corinthian Colleges, the scandal ridden for-profit college that went bankrupt in 2015. Counsel Present for Defendant: Whitney Boise, Kendra Matthews. Investors agree to $234.6M in settlements in Aequitas was - Portland Brian Oliver - Technical Specialist - BCX | ZoomInfo A lock ( MacRitchie, the former utility executive, was the picture of respectability. Brian Oliver - Senior Business Advising Specialist - Cathedral Consulting Once a high-flying Lake Oswego . The third policy is now being consumed even though the criminal case is just getting underway and the pool of potential defendants is expanding. There was no more hiding the fact that Aequitas was broke. ORDER Presentence Report to be prepared by U.S. He committed suicide in an attempt to hide . PDF Former Aequitas Owner and Executive Vice President Pleads Guilty - DOL The fallout continues in the Aequitas Management scandal, which has produced guilty pleas, jail sentences, big-dollar fines and, now, additional bans from the industry by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They are also prohibited from violating the SECs antifraud provisions. The firm was growing quickly, it did business with some of the best-known investment advisors in the country, it claimed to have more than $1 billion under management. Portland, Oregon 97204 He worked for Portland banks for much of his career before he was named regional president of Key Bank in 2006. They also have people who have helped raise money and sell businesses so they can help with that too. Oliver also was charged criminally for his conduct and has pled guilty, but has not yet been sentenced. Investment adviser: Aequitas lied to investors | The Seattle Times Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 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. Defendant advised of rights. 2 executive, on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Court finds guilty pleas to be knowing and voluntary. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. AEQUITAS MANAGEMENT, LLC - Leagle 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. 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. An official website of the United States government. Some money from new investors was allegedly used to pay earlier investors Oliver was a partial owner and Executive Vice President of Aequitas Management, LLC ("Aequitas Management . According to court documents, Jesenik, Gillis, MacRitchie, Rice, and others used the Lake Oswego company to solicit investments in a variety of notes and funds, many of which were purportedly backed by trade receivables in education, health care, transportation, and other consumer credit areas. 0. Much of the cash went to make the payments owed to other investors. District of Oregon | Former Aequitas Owner and Executive Vice President But now it has a bigger problem: farmers are revolting against restrictions on how they repair complex equipment. SEC files Complaint against Aequitas Management - Fishman Haygood Aequitas execs deny wrongdoing, cite 'corporate optimism' - oregonlive Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world. (2), Outcome: 04/19/2019 9 Order Setting Conditions of Release as to Defendant Brian A. Oliver. Our team of expertsis available to help your business build value in a variety of ways including: assessments, strategic planning, corporate financing, M&A support, market research, growth marketingandmuch more! This is a company that talked a woman into investing nearly her entire retirement nest-egg -- about half-a-million dollars - in October 2015, Kayser said. According to court documents, Aequitas created and operated investment funds that purchased trade receivables in education, health care, transportation, and other consumer credit areas. 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. But the defendants have already spent more than $10 million on legal costs, exhausting the first two policies. Sentencing for No. 2 Aequitas executive Brian Oliver moved to February 13. Previously, Brian was an Executive VP, Business Development at Alternative Asset Management. 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. (kms) (Entered: 04/19/2019), Home Insight and analysis of top stories from our award winning magazine "Bloomberg Businessweek". Brian and his wife of 30 years live in Aurora, Oregon where they raised their family. Signed on 4/19/2019 by Judge Michael W. Mosman. He argues he needs the money to help defray losses suffered by Aequitas investors. Brian Rice and Scott Gillis, two of the company's six senior partners, resigned in recent weeks. [More: Aequitas meltdown underscores the importance of due diligence, caution]. Brian Oliver and Olaf Janke, Aequitas chief financial officer before Gillis, pleaded guilty to similar charges. Ledger was the co-founder of Aequitas, which was then a small New York based company that dealt primarily in commercial paper. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. 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. Rice, former president of Key Bank of Oregon, acknowledged in recent court filings that he is a target in the case. There are also questions about whether Jesenik and other defendants spent the money appropriately. 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. | Editor An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 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 . This case is being investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration. 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. Re: United States of America v. Brian A. Oliver - MoreLaw MacRitchie, a former ScottishPower and PacifiCorp executive, said in court filings that he too has incurred defense costs in connection with the DOJ investigation. Whether prosecutors consider MacRitchie a target or witness or some other category is unclear. Theyve got a team that really loves entrepreneurship and is equipped with different skill sets. As Aequitas grew, its profile in the community also increased. The company opened slick new offices in New York City. Nevertheless, Papak ruled in favor of Jeseniks request for access to additional insurance funds to cover his defense. Other funds went to pay their salaries. 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. The firm sold more than $300 million worth of private investment notes, mostly through financial advisers.