Guy Gentile
Quick Facts
Biography
Guy Gentile (born July 3, 1976) is an American business executive, entrepreneur, and high-frequency trading expert. He is the current CEO of Swiss Americas Securities, Ltd and is best known for founding two prominent high-frequency trading platforms.
Career
In 1999 Gentile founded SpeedTrader, currently owned by Stock USA Investments, Inc, (formerly Speed Trader, Inc,). Then in 2011 Gentile founded SureTrader, a division of Swiss Americas Securities, Ltd. In less than a year in operation, SureTrader reported more than 100,000 equity transactions daily. Its success prompted a major expansion to meet scaling demands, and the firm set out to increase staff by two hundred percent during March 2012. By 2012 both SureTrader and SpeedTrader were ranked amongBarron's top online brokers.
In May 2012, as Suretrader reported averaging thirty thousand transactions daily, Gentile then broke ground on Sur CLub, 1.2 million-dollar sushi restaurant offering both a club and dining experience. Its opening night received more than 500 applications in anticipation of its opening.
Community and volunteer service
On March 4, 2014 a BEA license was approved for Guy Gentile
On May 13, 2014 Guy Gentile was appointed to the Putnam County Traffic Safety Board
Later that year on July 31, 2014 Gentile graduated the Putnum County Bureau of emergency Services Training Program, to join the Putnum Vally Fire Department.
Media
On August 7, 2011 the ABC News team interviewed Guy Gentile on the impact of high-frequency trading software on stock market volatility.
On January 2, 2012 Gentile conducted an interview with the Nassau Guardian to discuss the development of his newly opened Brokerage
On July 18, 2016 Guy provided an exclusive interview with the Tribune to discuss the latest controversy surrounding his case.
Controversy
On March 23, 2016 Gentile was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with perpetrating penny stock manipulation schemes. He was criminally charged by the US Attorney for the district of New Jersey for one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of securities fraud. On May 27 and 28, 2015, Itamar Cohen, 53, and Michael Taxon, 52, stock promoters from Ontario, Canada, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares charging them with conspiracy to commit securities fraud for their involvement in the scheme. Guy Gentile is charged with securities fraud, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years, and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
On July 14, 2016 a Motion to Dismisswas filed by Gentile's attorney. While the motion cites the 5-year statue of limitations as the basis of a dismissal, it also brought several additional arguments to light, which raises serious questions of due process at the hand of the FBI and DOJ. Gentile's defense argues that the six year statute of limitations cannot be applied retroactively. Pointing out that points out that the Supreme Court has instructed “cases where this Court has found truly ‘retroactive’ effect adequately authorized by statute" have involved statutory language so unambiguously clear it could sustain only one interpretation.
Gentile's Attorney'sstate the prosecution will presumably claim that actually had the benefit of an additional year, by virtue of the six-year statute of limitations made applicable to specifically enumerated substantive and conspiratorial types of securities fraud offenses, by the Dodd-Frank Act, enacted on July 21, 2010.
The defense then argues the Dodd-Frank Act, enacted on July 21, 2010, does not provide an additional year of coverage - citing the act "Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act or the Amendments made by this Act, this Act and such amendments shall take effect 1 day after the date of enactment of this Act". The new six-year statute of limitations, therefore, took effect on July 22, 2010, and applies to all conduct on or after that date. July 22, 2010 is, of course, more than two years after Gentile's alleged conduct ended in June 2008.
The defense further argues that Gentile signed two "tolling affidavits," each of which expressed his agreement to toll the statute of limitations for specified crimes for one year, and when doing so, Gentile believed he was tolling a five-year statute of limitations. Consequently, the defense argues that the charges under which Gentile was indicted were brought nearly eight years after-the-fact, but are subject to a
five-year statute of limitations.