Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Oliver was a partial owner and Executive Vice President of Aequitas Management, LLC ("Aequitas Management . The firm sold more than $300 million worth of private investment notes, mostly through financial advisers. They hurt a whole lot of people.. Email USAO-OR. SEC Charges Oregon-Based Investment Group and Executives With Brian A. Oliver, age 51, resides in Aurora, Oregon. 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. The company opened slick new offices in New York City. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 2023 InvestmentNews LLC. A former senior executive and chief financial officer of Aequitas Management, LLC, and several other entities formerly owned by Aequitas, pleaded guilty today to submitting a false statement to an Aequitas creditor to obtain a $4.2 million loan for the now-defunct company. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS ORDER Defendant released on previous conditions. Six months later, on or about June 30, 2015, Gillis signed an amended loan agreement with Wells Fargo on Aequitass behalf. Subscribe for original insights, commentary and analysis of the issues facing the financial advice community, from the InvestmentNews team. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Lock In a separate proceeding, the SEC barred the three from the securities industry. All rights reserved (About Us). Add Andrew MacRitchie and Brian Rice, second and third from right, to the list of former Aequitas executives now facing substantial legal defense costs. 2 executive Brian Oliver pleaded guilty to the same charges in April. Redmond adviser caught in Oregon firm's $600M financial collapse The Oregon firm thought it had hit the motherlode when it got into the college debt business. According to court documents, Aequitas created and operated investment funds that purchased trade receivables in education, health care, transportation, and other consumer credit areas. 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An official website of the United States government. Plus, Jeseniks monthly legal fees approximately quadrupled after he hired new counsel in approximately March 2017. Bob Jesenik, the co-founder and face of the defunct Lake Oswego investment firm Aequitas Management, was indicted Tuesday on charges he defrauded hundreds of its former clients. Its not just the amount of insurance money that went to Jesenik that concerns the receiver. The agency on Wednesday barred Aequitas partial owner and chief executive Robert Jesenik, 60, partial owner and executive vice president Brian Oliver, 55, and former chief financial officer N. Forgot your password? | Advertising More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. Attorneys for the receiver now in charge of Aequitas, have voiced alarm at the share of the insurance money spent by Jesenik. SEC bars Aequitas execs after $540m judgement against Oregon firm A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. By the time he left, he was also in charge of Key Banks operations in Washington and Alaska. Brian A Oliver is Exec VP & Pres:Financial Svcs at Aequitas Capital Mgmt Inc. See Brian A Oliver's compensation, career history, education, & memberships. District of Oregon | Former Aequitas Owner and Executive Vice President District of Oregon | Former Aequitas Senior Executive and Chief | Sign In, Verdict Corrections Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Please read our Terms and Conditions, Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement, and Privacy Policy before using the site. Owler Reports - KCC: Aequitas Capital No. 2 Brian Oliver pleads guilty They agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with the government. By the time Corinthian filed for bankruptcy and students went on strike refusing to pay their loans some 75% of the receivables of the Aequitas notes came from the for-profit scam, according to RIA Intels first story on Aequitas. Jesenik, Rice, and MacRitchie are all on pre-trial release pending a five-week jury trial scheduled to begin on April 3, 2023. There was the company that bought bad debt from hospitals for pennies on the dollar and then tried to collect on the debt. | Editor They remain active in their local church as well as volunteer with several other local non-profits, and in their leisure time enjoy hiking and camping in their travel trailer when not otherwise spending time with their two adult children. Brian has over 30 years experience in providing corporate finance and consulting solutions to small and medium sized businesses. He worked for Portland banks for much of his career before he was named regional president of Key Bank in 2006. They are Brian Rice, who formerly headed Key Banks operations in much of Oregon, Andrew MacRitchie, The Scotland native who came to Portland when when Scottish Power purchased PacifiCorp, and N. Scott Gillis, the former chief financial officer. Gillis was the second Aequitas chief financial officer. Co-founders Bob Jesenik and Brian Oliver had participated in too many sketchy deals for sophisticated Oregon investors to feel comfortable with them. 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. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Rice, a longtime Portland banker who eventually became regional president for Key Bank, gave up the big downtown office to join Aequitas in 2014. Ledger was the co-founder of Aequitas, which was then a small New York based company that dealt primarily in commercial paper. Reset here, 1999 - 2023 citywire.com. 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. They've got that too. Oliver was originally scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 5, but the sentencing date was moved to Nov.. Investors had been bilked out of hundreds of millions of dollars, the SEC said. Luminaries from the downtown business establishment wanted to join the team. The court also required Robert J. Jesenik, the firms former CEO, and Brian A. Oliver, its former executive vice president, to pay $940,806 and $235,928, respectively, in disgorgement and interest. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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. In these roles, he was responsible for directing Aequitass overall financial policies and accounting functions. Aequitas investors filed a $350 million class-action lawsuit in April 2016, less than a month after the SEC charged Aequitas Management LLC and four affiliates, as well as three executivesCEO Robert Jesenik, executive vice president Brian Oliver, and CFO and chief operating officer N. Scott Gilliswith hiding the deteriorating financial Attorney Billy J. Williams announced today that Brian A. Oliver, a former owner and executive vice president of Aequitas Management, LLC and several other Aequitas-related companies has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud and money laundering. Former CFO N. Scott Gillis was required to pay a $300,000 civil penalty. Jesenik also must pay a civil penalty of $625,000. There was the commercial lender. Bob Jesenik has not been criminally charged. They both opted not to talk. 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. Official websites use .gov There was no more hiding the fact that Aequitas was broke. The court appointed receiver now in charge of whats left of Aequitas opposes Rices and MacRitchies request for access to the insurance money. Brian's experience encompasses a variety of positions across commercial banking, investment banking, alternative asset management, and business advisory services. In a divorce settlement filed with the court, it's. Gillis was the second Aequitas chief financial officer. The final judgments prohibit Jesenik, Oliver, and Gillis from serving as officers or directors of any public company. If you need help with finances, they've got that covered. Both Rice and MacRitchie have asked the court for access to Aequitas insurance money to cover their defense costs. | Link Errors 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. As part of the plea agreement, Oliver has agreed to pay restitution in full to each of victims as determined and ordered by the court. But they made good money for Aequitas and its investors. It is being prosecuted by Scott E. Bradford and Ryan W. Bounds, Assistant U.S. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Portland, Oregon 97204 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. Main Office: 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. If you missed the last issue of InvestmentNews, you can access it here. 2023 RIA Intel, an Institutional Investor Publication. Advisors providing advice on cryptocurrency-related assets should do so with caution, according to a new report by the CFP Board. Theyve got a team that really loves entrepreneurship and is equipped with different skill sets. In April, Brian Oliver, Aequitas. 2 executive, on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Gillis faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, an $8.4 million fine, and five years supervised release. Another was a utility executive who helped change Portlands business landscape. For 23 years, Brian Oliver was the classic second-in-command at Aequitas Management LLC, the earnest, low-key straight arrow to the company's colorful alpha-dog CEO Bob Jesenik. PORTLAND, Ore.A former senior executive and chief financial officer of Aequitas Management, LLC, and several other entities formerly owned by Aequitas, pleaded guilty today to submitting a false statement to an Aequitas creditor to obtain a $4.2 million loan for the now-defunct company. Brian Rice and Scott Gillis, two of the company's six senior partners, resigned in recent weeks. Accounting giant Deloitte, stock trader T.D. But this one was worse. Oliver also was charged criminally for his conduct and has pled guilty, but has not yet been sentenced. Oliver was the companys primary fundraiser and shared responsibility for the operation and management of Aequitas-affiliated companies and investment products as well as for the use of investor money. 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 . District of Oregon | Former Aequitas Owner and Chief Financial Officer Brian Oliver and Olaf Janke, former senior Aequitas executives, have in recent months cut plea deals with federal prosecutors. SEC v. Aequitas Management, LLC; Aequitas Holdings, LLC; Aequitas 1000 SW Third Ave Suite 600 He will be sentenced on June 27, 2023 by U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon. They also have people who have helped raise money and sell businesses so they can help with that too. The new indictments bring to six the number of former Aequitas executives charged with defrauding investors. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. Jesenik founded the Aequitas group of companies, and, as chief executive officer, controlled the organizations structure and had ultimate decision-making authority over company activities. The third policy is now being consumed even though the criminal case is just getting underway and the pool of potential defendants is expanding. 2 executive, on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. 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. As U.S. Judge Magistrate Paul Papak noted in an October 2017 ruling, at that point 61 percent of the defense cost payments went to Jeseniks lawyers. Three other former Aequitas executives, including a former Portland bank president and a senior utility executive, were also charged. Have a question about Government Services? 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. I have really enjoyed working with Seth, Brian and the Cathedral team. A locked padlock A lock ( Ameritrade and big law firms like Sidley Austin gave the local operation a sheen of legitimacy. On or about January 12, 2015, Aequitas entered into a loan agreement with Wells Fargo to establish a $100 million line of credit. Marketing? All rights reserved (About Us). A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Attorneys for the District of Oregon. A lock ( He pled guilty but has not yet been sentenced. Federal regulators claimed that Aequitas executives misled investors for years about the companys true financial condition. 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. He declined to comment. Government summarized charges and terms of plea agreement. Brian Oliver and Olaf Janke, Aequitas chief financial officer before Gillis, pleaded guilty to similar charges. Former Aequitas CEO and Senior Executives Indicted in Fraud and Money