President Donald Trump reportedly granted clemency to David Gentile, a private equity executive, after he was convicted of defrauding thousands of victims in a $1.6 billion scheme.
Gentile, 59, was granted clemency just a few days into his seven-year prison sentence, according to The New York Times, and was released from prison Wednesday, according to prison records. Gentile’s conviction will not be erased. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gentile and his co-defendant, Jeffry Schneider, were convicted in August 2024 on conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and securities fraud.
Prosecutors said Gentile and Schneider participated in a yearslong scheme to defraud more than 10,000 investors by using Gentile’s private equity firm, GPB Capital, to misrepresent the source of the funds and how they were performing to make monthly distribution payments. The GPB funds raised more than $1.6 billion collectively from investors. Gentile was sentenced in May to seven years in prison, and Schneider was sentenced to six. It appears Schneider is still in prison.
Joseph Nocella Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement at the time Gentile and Schneider built a “foundation of lies.”
