To be eligible for a whistleblower award, a person must provide the SEC with non-public information that is original and leads to a successful enforcement action. When the sanction is $1 million or more, a whistleblower award can range from 10% to 30% of the money collected.
GPB Facing Serious Issues
Founded in 2013, GPB is an alternative asset management firm that buys private companies, such as car dealerships and waste management companies, and tries to maximize their growth and profitability. GPB raised $1.5 billion dollars by paying high commissions to brokers who sold private placement investments in their funds to retail investors.
Investors were drawn to the high 8% dividend payment they received for owning shares in the funds. Sadly, a GPB investment didn’t work out the way investors were told. The company has been the subject of near-constant bad news in recent years.
GPB stopped paying dividends in 2018, and their offices were raided by the FBI. A former partner who is suing the company accuses them of operating like a Ponzi scheme.
In June, 2019, GPB announced that the value of its two biggest investment funds, GPB Holdings II and GPB Automotive Portfolio, had declined by 25% and 39%, respectively. The other funds declined significantly as well, according to the company.
GPB is being sued in class action lawsuits. In October, 2019, the company’s chief compliance officer and managing director was criminally indicted on obstruction of justice charges.
With all the bad news and decline in value of GPB’s funds, investors are suck holding their private placements in the company because there’s no one to sell to. Investors can only speculate about GPB’s fate. Will they end up in bankruptcy? Are more criminal charges coming? How much will investors get back from their investment? Right now, no one knows.
GPB Whistleblower
GPB is already the subject of investigations by the FBI, SEC, FINRA, and New York’s Business Integrity Commission. But there is still the potential for a whistleblower to provide information that results in an enforcement action and an award for the whistleblower. Since giving its first award in 2012, the SEC has paid 66 whistleblowers $387 million.
If you worked for GPB Capital Holdings or any broker-dealer that sold GPB and have original non-public information about misconduct, please call us toll free at 800-975-4345, or use our online contact form to get in touch.
Such information could include proof that GPB or selling brokers and broker-dealers materially misrepresented facts to investors or regulators and/or other useful information.
In addition to collecting financial awards, SEC whistleblower rules provide employment protections for whistleblowers. The SEC does not disclose the identity of whistleblowers, nor any information that could directly or indirectly disclose someone’s identity if requested by the SEC whistleblower and the individual is represented by counsel.
Individuals may file a whistleblower claim on their own, but many prefer to do so with the help of an experienced law firm that can guide them through the process and give them the best odds of collecting an award.
SEC Whistleblower Attorneys
Our attorneys represent whistleblowers including current and former employees of major brokerage firms.
Silver Law Group represents whistleblowers in securities and investment fraud cases reported to the SEC. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent SEC whistleblowers nationwide. These cases handled on a contingent fee basis. Call us toll free at 800-975-4345, or use our online contact form to get in touch.