CEO of Prime Auto parent GPB Capital charged with securities fraud

Three individuals affiliated with GPB Capital Holdings, an investment firm that owns Westwood-based Prime Automotive Group, were charged Thursday with securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. Defendants David Gentile, the founder, owner and CEO of GPB; Jeffry Schneider, the owner and CEO of Ascendant Capital LLC; and Jeffrey Lash, a former managing partner of GPB, have been charged with engaging in a scheme to defraud investors by misrepresenting the source of funds used to make monthly distribution payments to them and the amount of revenue generated by two of GPB’s investment funds, according to a Department of Justice press release.