Did You Buy Shares Of GPB Capital Holdings Through Concorde Investment Services or Robert S. Smith?

Robert Scott Smith (CRD #1412333) is a Financial Advisor at Concorde Investment Services in Lake Oswego, OR.  Robert Smith entered the securities industry in 1985 and previously worked at Pacific West Securities and Brookstreet Securities. 

The Wolper Law Firm is currently representing other investors in GPB Capital Holdings, who have experienced investment losses in risky private placements issued by GPB Capital Holdings.  The customers were told that the GPB Capital Holdings private placements were low risk and would generate safe and stable investment returns.  Virtually no risk disclosures were made and no disclosure was made regarding the high commissions of 8% earned by brokers who sold GPB. 

GPB Has reportedly raised $1.8 billion from investors across the country through private placement investments in a number of individual limited partnerships, including: 

-GPB Automotive Portfolio, LP
-GPB Cold Storage, LP
-GPB Eurobond Finance PLC
-GPB Holdings II, LP
-GPB Holdings, III, LP
-GPB Holdings Qualified, LP
-GPB Holdings, LP
-GPB NYC Development
-GPB Scientific, LLC
-GPB Waste Management, LP formerly: GPB Waste Management Fund, LP.

Over the last several months, the GPB family of funds have precipitously declined, leaving investors with large losses.  Some of the GPB funds have reported declines of 40%. 

Several disturbing revelations have recently surfaced.  In a lawsuit filed by a former GPB operating partner, it was alleged that GPB was operating a ponzi scheme.   Specifically, in July 2017, GPB Capital Holdings, LLC (“GPB”) initiated a litigation against Patrick Dibre, a former operating partner, in New York State Supreme Court, Nassau County, Index No. 606417/2017 (the, “Dibre Case”).  On March 19, 2018, Mr. Dibre filed counterclaims against GPB in the Dibre Case. Mr. Dibre’s allegations, which include allegations against GPB Capital Holdings, LLC’s controllers, David Gentile (“Gentile”) and Jeffrey Schneider (“Schneider”), alege the following:

Contrary to GPB’s stated purpose in bringing the instant action against Dibre, the true purpose of this action by GPB is to divert attention away from the fact that the losses occasioned by GPB were in fact caused by a very complicated and manipulative Ponzi scheme.

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Gentile also engaged his father’s accounting firm to perform monthly services that were either never performed or which were overbilled in the approximate amount of $100,000 per month.  The performance of those alleged services by a related party was not disclosed to investors at that time.

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Gentile and Schneider also expensed significant personal expenses such as luxury cars, vacations, and private jets to GPB or dealerships. One of those expenses totaled $550,000 for use of an airplane for the month of August 2017.

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Gentile and Schneider recorded the purchase price of the dealerships that they purchased from Dibre at several million dollars more than the combined actual purchase price, closing expenses, and working capital investment. They then directed those additional monies back to themselves, or entities in which they held in interest, as acquisition fees.

In addition, in July 2019, David Rosenberg, a chief executive of Prime Automotive Group, filed another lawsuit against GPB in Massachusetts Superior Court, alleging a “massive securities fraud” in which it used money from investors to prop up the performance of auto dealerships it owns, as well as to finance payments to other investors. 

Separate and apart from the lawsuits, there are pending governmental and regulatory investigations: 

• In September 2018, the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth announced that it was launching an investigation into the 63 securities broker-dealer firms that sold partnerships controlled by GPB.
• In December 2018 it was reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, launched investigations into GPB.
• On February 28, 2019, the FBI made an “unannounced visit” to GPB’s office in New York. Following the visit, a spokesperson for GPB announced that the firm was cooperating with the investigation.

Robert S Smith has documented customer complaint disclosures.  In July 2019, a customer filed a complaint, alleging “unsuitable sales and negligence, relating to private placements.”  The customer alleges that he was sold GPB funds and, consequently, lost $1.1 million.  That dispute remains pending. 

In August 2013, another customer filed a complaint against Robert Smith, alleging “misrepresentation, unsuitable investment, breach of fiduciary duty…”  The matter was settled for $27,000.  Two other customers filed complaints in 2010 and 2011 but those matters were closed without compensation made to the customer. 

For a copy of Robert Scott Smith’s (CRD #1412333) CRD, click https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/1412333#disclosuresSection.

Financial advisors have a legal and regulatory obligation to recommend only suitable investments that are appropriate for their clients’ needs and objectives. Their employing brokerage firm has a legal and regulatory obligation to supervise the Financial Advisors’ sales practices and dealings with clients.  To the extent any of these duties are breached, the customer may be entitled to a recovery of his or her investment losses.

The Wolper Law Firm represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration on a contingency fee basis.  Matt Wolper, the Managing Principal of the Wolper Law Firm, is a trial lawyer who has handled hundreds of securities cases during his career involving a wide range of products, strategies and securities.  Prior to representing investors, he was a partner with a national law firm, where he represented some of the largest banks and brokerage firms in the world in securities matters.  We can be reached at 800.931.8452 or by email at mwolper@wolperlawfirm.com.