Firm News

When Clemency Undercuts Justice: What the Gentile Release Means for Investors

December 1, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

On December 1, 2025, the IBTimes published a story covering the controversial commutation of David Gentile, the convicted leader of the massive purported Ponzi scheme spun out of GPB Capital. Gentile had defrauded thousands of investors—raising roughly $1.6 billion on false promises of reliable returns. He began serving a seven-year sentence just two weeks before the commutation granted by Donald Trump released him after only 12 days.

IBTimes quoted me in reaction to the commutation. I said:

“The stories we have heard are heartbreaking. It is simply unbelievable that someone responsible for such widespread investor harm could receive a commutation. This was never about politics. This man belongs in prison.”

When Clemency Meets Financial Fraud: Adam Gana Responds to the Gentile Commutation

December 1, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

The recent decision by Donald Trump to commute the prison sentence of former investment executive David Gentile has reignited national debate over accountability in large-scale financial fraud and the long-term consequences faced by investors. Gentile, a cofounder and former chief executive of GPB Capital, had been sentenced to seven years in prison after his 2024 conviction for orchestrating a wide-ranging fraud that raised approximately $1.6 billion from more than 10,000 retail investors. He reported to prison in mid-November and was released just days later following the commutation.

The case has become a flashpoint not only because of the speed of Gentile’s release, but because of the scope of the harm inflicted on ordinary investors. Federal prosecutors established that GPB Capital falsely represented that investor distributions were funded by operating revenues from portfolio companies, including automotive dealership groups, when in reality a significant portion of distributions came from incoming investor funds. More than a thousand victim impact statements were submitted at sentencing, many describing the loss of retirement savings and lifelong financial security.

Amid the national coverage, Adam Gana, Managing Partner of Gana Weinstein LLP, was quoted by the Daily Mail expressing deep concern over what the commutation symbolizes for fraud victims and the broader investing public. Gana, whose firm represents hundreds of investors harmed by the GPB collapse in arbitration and civil litigation, emphasized that the consequences of such crimes are not political abstractions but permanent financial wounds suffered by real families. He described the stories coming out of the GPB case as heartbreaking and warned that high-profile clemency decisions risk undermining the sense of justice many victims rely upon after years of litigation.

How Gana Weinstein LLP Became a National Leader in Investor-Side FINRA Arbitration

November 18, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

ow Gana Weinstein LLP Became a National Leader in Investor-Side FINRA Arbitration

Most investors never expect to battle their financial advisor, brokerage firm, or wealth manager. They trust the professional in front of them. They assume retirement accounts are handled responsibly. And when something goes wrong, many believe the loss is simply “the market.” At Gana Weinstein LLP, we exist for one reason—to show harmed investors that they are not powerless.

For more than a decade, our firm has represented individual investors in FINRA arbitration, AAA proceedings, JAMS matters, and court litigation nationwide. Through that work, we have recovered more than $475 million on behalf of clients who suffered losses through unsuitable investments, supervisory failures, retirement mismanagement, and fraud. This figure reflects years of focused advocacy across thousands of securities cases and places our firm among the most accomplished claimant-side investor-rights practices in the United States.

Gana Weinstein LLP Files Inspired Healthcare Capital Claim on Behalf of Client

November 3, 2025 | by Staff Attorney

The law firm Gana Weinstein LLP, which focuses on securities-related cases, has initiated an arbitration claim against Emerson Equity LLC on behalf of a retired investor. The claim accuses the brokerage firm of misrepresenting investments in Inspired Healthcare Capital (IHC) as secure and reliable vehicles for retirement income, despite their high-risk nature. IHC, based in Arizona and specializing in senior housing real estate, is currently under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and has halted all new offerings and investor distributions.

The legal filing states that IHC promoted itself as managing more than $1.5 billion in assets, largely funded through Regulation D private placements marketed by broker-dealers, including Emerson Equity. These offerings were presented to investors as relatively low-risk because of their focus on assisted living and memory care real estate. However, IHC’s abrupt operational shutdown and financial troubles suggest significant mismanagement.

In July 2025, IHC closed down its in-house management arm, Volante Senior Living, and transitioned control of its properties to outside operators. Shortly thereafter, Emerson Equity acknowledged in a communication to investors that IHC had not provided sufficient financial transparency for several of its Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) offerings. This led Emerson to pursue legal remedies. By August, a related entity, Emerson Equity Bridge Fund I, filed a lawsuit against IHC and its CEO, Luke Lee, alleging that a $1.5 million loan—personally backed by Lee—was based on misrepresentations. The suit claims that Lee failed to disclose over $200 million in existing personal guarantees, despite being in severe financial distress at the time the loan was executed.

The arbitration further accuses Emerson Equity of failing to fulfill its Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) obligations and fiduciary responsibilities by conducting insufficient due diligence and placing firm interests ahead of investor protection. Investors are now left in limbo, with payments frozen and access to their original investment uncertain.

Legal action is ongoing, and investors who purchased IHC products are urged to review their accounts and seek legal advice if they suspect they received misleading information.

Gana Weinstein Represents Investors in Claims Concerning Jason Mitsuda’s Sale of Structured Products

July 13, 2024 | by Staff Attorney

The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP have filed a complaint on behalf of investors relating to financial advisor Jason Mitsuda’s (Mitsuda) sales of structured products. At the time Mitsuda was registered with Equitable Advisors, LLC (Equitable) and has since been registered with Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, Cetera Investment Services, LLC, and now Pruco Securities, LLC.

Structured products are a class of derivative products that derive their performance from market linked data. A structured product generally references a source against which market risk is taken. The source can be a single security, a basket of securities such as a market index, commodities, interest rates, or a real estate loan portfolio. The variety of products that can be structured demonstrates the difficulty in formulating a single unified definition of a structured product.

In recent years, banks of started issuing structured products that reference not a basket of securities or a broad index but instead a single stock. And usually not just any stock but instead a very volatile stock that exhibits large price fluctuations. The structured product at issue in the case filed by our firm referenced a well known high risk technology ETF called ARK Innovation ETF “ARKK.” The ARRK investment was issued by JP Morgan and came due at the end of 2022. Banks issue these structured products trying to entice investors with promises of above market interest rate returns. However, the banks know that the volatile stocks that the notes are linked to make it likely that the bank will be protected from paying the investor.

Gana Weinstein LLP Respresents Investor In Unsuitable David Lerner Energy 11, L.P. Sale

February 6, 2021 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana LLP recently filed a complaint before The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on behalf of a investor against brokerage firm David Lerner Associates, Inc. (David Lerner) involving the firm’s financial advisor, Lawrence Merl (Merl) and his recommendation to invest virtually all of the widow Claimant’s savings in an oil & gas private placement – Energy 11, L.P (Energy 11). The Claimant alleged that David Lerner failed to supervise Mr. Merl’s unsuitable recommendation and failed to conduct due diligence on the investment in Energy 11.

Energy 11 has sustained massive losses that appear to have been hidden from investors due to the fact that the sponsor of Energy 11 gets to state its own value to investors. Recently, investors in Energy 11 received value information indicating an approximate 65% loss on the investment. It is possible that the loss if far greater than even the drastic loss already being voluntarily reported by the fund. Investors who have suffered losses are encouraged to contact us at (800) 810-4262 for consultation.

Energy 11, L.P. is a non-traded oil and gas investment. The partnership was formed in 2013 to acquire and develop oil and natural gas properties located onshore in the United States. Energy 11 has raised over $350 million and invested the proceeds in non-operated working interests in approximately 221 existing producing wells and approximately 247 future development locations in the Sanish field located in Mountrail County, North Dakota. Whiting Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:WLL), a publicly traded oil and gas company, operates the Partnership’s well interests in the Sanish field.

Gana Weinstein LLP Files Case on Behalf of Client of Advisor Kevin McCallum and Investment in Medley Capital Corporation

February 6, 2021 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana LLP recently filed a complaint before The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on behalf of a investor against brokerage firm LPL Financial, LLC (LPL) involving the firm’s financial advisor, Kevin McCallum (McCallum) and his use of discretion to invest substantial sums in Medley Capital Corporation (MCC). The Claimant alleged that LPL failed to supervise Mr. McCallum’s discretionary trading in MCC, breached their fiduciary duty to Claimant, and failed to conduct due diligence on the investment. In addition, due to the massive amount of MCC that LPL allowed Mr. McCallum to purchase on behalf of all of his clients, the Claimant alleged that LPL had an undisclosed conflict of interest in the MCC transaction.

MCC is a low-priced thinly traded security and is a non-diversified closed end management investment company incorporated in Delaware that is a business development company (BDC). MCC commenced operations on January 20, 2011 with an investment objective to generate current income and capital appreciation by lending directly to privately held middle market companies. BDCs often enter into high risk lending arrangements.

In this case, MCC was even more risky than the average BDC due to several factors including: 1) the BDC was a thinly traded micro-cap issuer and a low-priced or penny stock; 2) MCC had suffered from years of ongoing losses and declines in its business portfolio; and 3) MCC’s management was accused and found to have engaged in an unethical bidding process. Due to the foregoing high risk factors, an investment in MCC was unsuitable for the vast majority of investors and certainly unsuitable in large concentrations for any investor.

Spire Securities’ CEO David Blisk Makes False Statements After Panel Awards $3 Million Against Him

June 22, 2019 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP represents a group of 23 claimants that have been awarded $3 million by a FINRA arbitration panel after 18 days of hearing and litigation that stretched over three years. At hearing the evidence showed that Spire Securities, LLC (Spire Securities) and the firm’s principal officers including its CEO David Blisk (Blisk) and CCO Suzanne McKeown (McKeown) failed to supervise their registered representative Patrick Churchville (Churchville).

Despite the overwhelming evidence of the firm’s failure to supervise Blisk continues to defend his conduct instead of instituting necessary reforms to his practice. In addition, Blisk has made several false statements of fact to the media in his continuing attempts to exonerate himself and his firm.

Blisk told AdvisorHub “’We think the award is outrageous and inappropriate,’ said Blisk, noting that the majority arbitrators appeared to ignore the firm’s claims that the Ponzi scheme began after Churchville left Spire in 2011. “We can’t supervise after somebody leaves us, and we don’t have to be fraud investigators.”

False on all counts. First the only thing that is outrageous is that Blisk and Spire Securities could not produce a single opening account form, subscription agreement, or account statement for any of the 23 claimants who invested over $10 million in Churchville’s fraud on Spire Securities watch. Claimants repeatedly asked Respondents to provide any evidence that the firm monitored Churchville’s activities for supervision without response. Blisk had no evidence that Claimants investments, which were overconcentrated in private equity funds, was suitable. Further, Respondents did not even know what Churchville’s funds were invested in and claimed that brokerage firms can blindly approve products that they have no understanding of.

Finally, Blisk falsely claims that Churchville did not commit fraud on Spire Securities watch. Claimants proved that Churchville directed and ordered the theft of over $900,000 from one of the Claimants over Spire Securities’ email servers. In addition, Claimants introduced numerous emails that showed $750,000 had been stolen from the private equity funds while Churchville fraudulently told investors the same investment was producing fantastic returns. Claimants also showed that Chuchville stole over $200,000 in investor funds to pay administrative expenses that had been overdue for over a year after the service provider questioned whether Churchville was going out of business. Finally, Claimants produced evidence that Churchville’s auditor had concerns over the private equity fund’s valuation and could not find evidence to back up Churchville’s claimed returns.

Spire Securities and Principals Found Liable For $3 Million Due to Supervisory Failures

June 21, 2019 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are pleased to announce that a group of 23 claimants have been awarded $3 million by a FINRA arbitration panel after 18 days of hearing and litigation that stretched over three years. The case involved important investor protections concerning broker private securities transactions and outside business activities that firms must supervise and has been picked up by news outlets.

At hearing the evidence showed that Spire Securities, LLC (Spire Securities) and the firm’s principal officers including its CEO David Blisk (Blisk) and CCO Suzanne McKeown (McKeown) failed to supervise their registered representative Patrick Churchville (Churchville). Due to the firm’s non-existent supervision Churchville was able to unsuitably invest his clients in his own private equity funds and misappropriate client funds. Chuchville was later barred from the securities industry and in March of 2017 the United States District Court of Rhode Island sentenced Churchville to 84 months in federal prison for his crimes.

Churchville conducted his fraudulent activities through private equity funds he ran and controlled through a disclosed outside business activity and registered investment advisory practice. Claimants showed that the private equity securities were private securities transactions that the firm was required to supervise. Claimants proved that while Blisk and McKeown approved of Churchville’s activities but that the firm relied on Churchville to supervise himself.

Gana Weinstein LLP Files Complaint on Behalf of Client Related to Laidlaw & Company’s Offering of 5G Investment

March 18, 2019 | by Staff Attorney

The securities lawyers of Gana Weinstein LLP recently filed a complaint on behalf of a client alleging that Laidlaw & Company (UK) Ltd. (Laidlaw) recommended the investor purchase a micro cap stock underwritten by the firm in violation of the securities laws. According to newsources and public filings Laidlaw has been involved in the fraudulent promotion of numerous small and micro cap stocks to their clients in violation of their duties to their clients to disclose conflicts of interests. These violations also include potentially facilitating pump-and-dump schemes.

Recently, one of Laidlaw’s clients, Barry Hoing (Hoing), was charged by The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for generating $27 million through a “classic pump-and-dump scheme.” The SEC’s allegations focus on stocks including BioZone Pharmaceuticals (now Cocrystal Pharma) (COCP), MGT Capital (OTC: MGTI), and MabVax Therapeutics (OTC: MBVX). However, other public filings reveal Hoing was also involved in other stocks including Riot Blockchain (RIOT), PolarityTE (PTE formerly COOL), and Marathon Patent Group (MARA). In addition, Laidlaw was involved in other securities offerings including Aethlon Medical, Actinium, Boston Therapeutics, 5G Investment, Alliaqua, Aspen Group, Brazahav Resources, Fusion Telecoms International, Protea Biosciences Group, Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, Medovex Corp, Relmada Therapeutics, Sevion Therapeutics, Spectrascience, and Spherix.