Portland, Oregon 97204 Defendant sworn and examined. Ledger left the company in 2005 in a highly controversial and public way. The Oregonian first reported the criminal charges and guilty plea. Brian Mariash, James Lowther and their team will operate as Mariash Lowther Wealth Management in Sarasota, Florida. In a separate administrative proceeding, Jesenik, Oliver, and Gillis were barred from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical ratings organization, the SEC said. MacRitchie, the former utility executive, was the picture of respectability. They hurt a whole lot of people.. Share Your Design Ideas, New JerseysMurphy Defends $10 Billion Rainy Day Fund as States Economy Slows, What Led to Europe's Deadliest Train Crash in a Decade, This Week in Crypto: Ukraine War, Marathon Digital, FTX, Exec VP & Pres:Financial Svcs, Aequitas Capital Mgmt Inc. The court appointed receiver now in charge of whats left of Aequitas opposes Rices and MacRitchies request for access to the insurance money. On March 10, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC ") filed a complaint in this Court against the Entity Defendants 1 and three individual defendants, Robert J. Jesenik, Brian A. Oliver, and N. Scott Gillis. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The Lake Oswego, Ore.-based investment management firm was the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint filed in 2016 alleging that Aequitas defrauded more than 1,500 investors into believing they were putting their money into health care, education and transportation investments when their money was being used primarily in a Ponzi-like fashion. 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. There was the commercial lender. Jesenik will have to pay $1.57 million in disgorgement, interest and penalties, while Oliver will pay $235,928 in disgorgement and interest, and Gillis will pay a $300,000 civil penalty. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. Despite that advice, on or about January 15, 2016, Gillis signed and, with others, submitted to Wells Fargo an advance notice, requesting that Wells Fargo advance $4.2 million to Aequitas with a false certification that Aequitas was not confronting a potential event of default. Thom Maher is launching a firm, Maher Wealth Management, in Phoenix. Oliver and his co-conspirators also failed to disclose other critical facts about the company, including its near-constant liquidity and cash-flow crises, the use investor money to repay other investors and to defray operating expenses, and the lack of collateral to secure funds. A lock ( Arraignment held for Defendant Brian A. Oliver on Counts 1 and 2 of the Information. 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. Probation. Then Corinthian went bankrupt. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS The company's general counsel just quit. Youve missed the point, Anxiety over tax refunds on the rise, Bankrate.com study shows, Gensler steps up warnings to money managers. They've got that too. Brian Oliver and Olaf Janke, former senior Aequitas executives, have in recent months cut plea deals with federal prosecutors. Over the last few years Cathedral has really provided sage advice as weve been growing our green building companies. 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. They also have people who have helped raise money and sell businesses so they can help with that too. After graduating from Oregon State University in 1987 with a degree in Finance and minor in Economics, Brian spent the next 10 years in commercial banking with US Bank before embarking on 20 years in the Investment Banking and Alternative Asset Management industry. Learn more about reprints and licensing for this article. But much of that money has already been spent. 2 executive, on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Timothy Laniers firm in Neptune Beach, Florida, focuses on serving doctors and health care executives. RIA Intel is part of Delinian. The SECs complaint, filed on March 10, 2016, alleged that Aequitas Management and four affiliates defrauded more than 1,500 investors nationwide when that money was being used primarily to cover operating losses and to pay earlier investors in a Ponzi-like fashion, according to an April 24 SEC press release on the final judgment. PORTLAND, Ore.U.S. President, Cathedral Finance|Senior Advisor. Gillis was the second Aequitas chief financial officer. By that time, it was clear to Aequitas executives the company was in deep financial trouble., Kayser added. Chris Kayser, a Portland lawyer who represented 120 people who had invested in Aequitas, saw firsthand how unsophisticated investors were taken advantage of. | Advertising 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. Now both have been sucked into the criminal fraud investigation of the collapsed firm. Aequitas Management, the Oregon-based RIA accused in 2016 of running a massive Ponzi-like scheme, and its top executives have finally settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Attorneys for the District of Oregon. Another was a utility executive who helped change Portlands business landscape. Both Rice and MacRitchie have asked the court for access to Aequitas insurance money to cover their defense costs. Gillis was the second Aequitas chief financial officer. Ameritrade and big law firms like Sidley Austin gave the local operation a sheen of legitimacy. brian oliver, aequitas brian oliver, aequitas Home Realizacje i porady Bez kategorii brian oliver, aequitas II. He will be sentenced on June 27, 2023 by U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon. (2), Outcome: 04/19/2019 9 Order Setting Conditions of Release as to Defendant Brian A. Oliver. In these roles, he was responsible for directing Aequitass overall financial policies and accounting functions. By early January 2016, Aequitass general counsel advised Gillis and other executives that the company would soon default on payments due to Private Note investors, causing an event of default on Aequitass loan agreement with Wells Fargo. 04/19/2019 11 Waiver of Indictment by Brian A. Oliver (schm) (Entered: 04/19/2019) On January 26, 2023, a California man who evaded federal authorities for more than two decades after being convicted at trial and who was wanted in District of Oregon for District of Oregon The sentencing for former Aequitas Capital executive Brian Oliver has been moved again. 2023 InvestmentNews LLC. Signed on 4/19/19 by Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Scott Bradford is the lead prosecutor on the case. But the defendants have already spent more than $10 million on legal costs, exhausting the first two policies. 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. 2 executive, on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Use of editorial content without permission is strictly prohibited|All rights reserved, Securities and Exchange Commission complaint filed in 2016, Aequitas meltdown underscores the importance of due diligence, caution, Fintech Bytes: RBC selects Vestwell, Riskalyze partners with Opto, Morgan Stanley ESG ETFs get the cold shoulder, HSA participants fail to take full advantage of tax trifecta, Investors keep dumping Blackstone REIT shares, Striving to win at compassion? It entered into a deal to buy student loans from Corinthian, the notorious for-profit college. Also charged are Nelson Scott Gillis, 67, of Lake Oswego, Oregon; Brian K. Rice, 54, of Portland; and Andrew N. MacRitchie, 56, formerly of Palm Harbor, Florida. Brian Oliver and Olaf Janke, Aequitas chief financial officer before Gillis, pleaded guilty to similar charges. In addition, it said Gillis agreed to be permanently suspended from appearing and practicing before the SEC as an accountant and cannot work as an auditor for pubic companies. Seven years ago, it was easy to believe in Aequitas. Brian Oliver, Aequitas Capital's longtime No. As part of the final consent judgment, the defendants are prohibited from soliciting anyone to purchase or sell a security and prohibiting them from participating in the issuance, offer, or sale of any security of an entity they control, the SECs release stated. Aequitas was allegedly a fraud on top of another fraud Corinthian Colleges, the scandal ridden for-profit college that went bankrupt in 2015. Official websites use .gov He is scheduled to be. Accounting giant Deloitte, stock trader T.D. Gillis was the second Aequitas chief financial officer. This case is being investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration. Brian Oliver is an Executive Vice President & President, Aequitas Financial Services Network at Aequitas Capital Management based in Lake Oswego, O regon. Gillis, who was previously indicted for conspiring to submit false statements to a federally insured creditor, was the companys chief operating officer and chief financial officer. PORTLAND, Ore.U.S. At a hearing in U.S. District Court on Monday, Janke confirmed that as part of his plea agreement, he would oppose any sentence of less than three years. As part of his plea agreement, Gillis has also agreed to pay restitution as determined by the government and ordered by the court. It is believed that since he was ousted from Aequitas, Jesenik has been working for a company founded by his son: KCR Advisors LLC, based in Viero Beach, Fla. An earlier indictment against Gillis will be dismissed. Previously, Brian was an Executive VP, Business Development at Alternative Asset Management. An official website of the United States government.