About Marty Sumichrast: Martin “Marty” Sumichrast is the Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of American Capital Partners, Inc, a strategic business advisory and corporate marketing firm. Marty is also the Managing Director of Sunshine Advisors, LLC, a private holding company.
Marty Sumichrast has been an entrepreneur and a strategic business advisor for over 35 years. His businesses have operated on three continents and employed thousands of people. He grew up the youngest child of Eastern European immigrants in Washington DC. Marty Sumichrast’s recent businesses include several high-profile publicly traded companies.
Visit AmericanCapPartners.com
Marty Sumichrast was the co-founder and former Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of cbdMD, Inc. (NYSE: YCBD) and served as a member of the board of directors and Chairman of the Board of Directors from April 2015 until June 2023. Marty Sumichrast raised over $100,000,000 in equity and debt financings for cbdMD. He founded the Company in March 2015, and was responsible for taking the Company public in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in November 2017.
Marty Sumichrast was responsible for the acquisition of the cbdMD brand in December 2018 in a $135,000,000 transaction and then growing the Company into a $400,000,000 market capitalization value, having it included in the Russell 3000 Index, generating over $250,000,000 in total aggregate sales with, managing over 200 employees and over 1,000,000 in customer transactions and received numerous achievement awards for Products of the Year.
Marty Sumichrast at Adara Acquisition Corp
Marty Sumichrast also was the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer and served as a member of the board of directors of Adara Acquisition Corp., since its formation and the Manager of its sponsor, Adara Sponsor, LLC, since its formation in August 2020. Marty Sumichrast completed Adara’s Initial Public Offering on the NYSE in February 2022 which raised over $115,000,000 in equity capital for Adara. Adara acquired Alliance Entertainment in a $600,000,000 transaction in June 2023.
From 2013 until July 2020, Marty Sumichrast served as the Managing Member of Stone Street Capital, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based private equity firm, where he was responsible for the growth of the business and then for the successful wind-down of the operations, after returning millions of dollars in assets to investors after the Company was devastated by the Siskey Ponzi scheme.
After a successful resolution to this unprecedented event, and despite the fact that Marty Sumichrast was the single largest victim of the Siskey fraud no investor ever took legal action against Marty Sumichrast and most stated he was a hero, Marty Sumichrast was sued by the Atlanta Office of the US Securities & Exchange Commission in a clear “scapegoat” attempt to cover for the fact that they never held a single individual accountable for the Siskey Ponzi Fraud, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
During a tenuous four-year battle in which the SEC tried to bankrupt and destroy Marty and tried to bar him from all future business, Marty Sumichrast ultimately prevailed and is in full standing with all regulatory bodies. His story and this period is the basis for his upcoming book Getting Sheared http://gettingsheared.com, which is being co-authored by 13 Time Best Selling Author Don Yaeger and Award Winning Investigative Journalist Jason Cole.
Marty Sumichrast at Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund, Inc.
Marty Sumichrast also served as a Trustee and Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committees of the Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund, Inc. (NYSE: BGH) and the Barings Capital Funds Trust, Inc. from 2012 to 2022.
From 1993 to 2002, he founded Global Capital Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: GCAP), his first public company and served as its Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, and during this period he built from this company from a start-up to a global investment bank with over 500 employees with 27 offices globally and several billion in assets under management.
Prior to Global Capital Partners, Marty Sumichrast helped finance many new ventures in Czechoslovakia, where his late father Michael immigrated. In 1992, Marty Sumichrast’s USA Builders broke ground on a subdivision in Prague called Na Visluni.
The first of its kind, USA Builders, partnered with home building giant, Trammel Crow, offered American style homes with wood construction and all American made materials. USA Builders’ model home was chosen by the US Department of Commerce as the “Model Home of the Year” for Eastern Europe. Marty Sumichras was only 26 years old.
Marty Sumichrast has also co-authored two books with his father, Opportunities in Financial Careers and The New Complete Book of Home Buying, both published by Dow Jones Irving Books. Marty resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife of 27 years, Cindy. They have four amazing children, Isabelle, Martin II, Andrew, and Caroline.
Marty Sumichrast’s “Getting Sheared” Book Announcement
We are thrilled to announce the release of “Getting Sheared,” an investigative masterpiece by Marty Sumichrast, Don Yaeger and Jason Cole, which delves into one of the most extensive and enduring Ponzi schemes in North Carolina history. This book is not just a recounting of financial malfeasance but a deep dive into the lives affected, the mechanisms of deceit, and the broader implications for trust and accountability in the financial sector.
“Getting Sheared” is the culmination of hundreds of interviews with victims and the analysis of tens of thousands of pages of previously unrevealed evidence. This book aims to:
Unveil the Truth: Expose who benefited from the scheme, who turned a blind eye, and who actively participated in covering up the fraud.
Explore the Human Cost: Provide personal stories of those impacted, offering a human face to the financial statistics.
Analyze the System: Discuss how such schemes can operate undetected for so long and what it means for regulatory oversight.
The narrative takes readers through the opulent lifestyle of the scheme’s architect, [Siskey], from private jets courtesy of casinos to a lucrative life insurance business with one of the world’s largest insurance companies. “Getting Sheared” not only documents these lavish expenditures but also scrutinizes the legal, ethical, and moral dimensions of the scheme’s execution and its eventual unraveling.
Marty Sumichrast on Key Highlights of “Getting Sheared”:
Over years of meticulous research, Marty Sumichrast, Don Yaeger and Jason Cole have pieced together a puzzle that not only details the mechanics of the Ponzi scheme but also explores the psychological and societal factors that allowed it to flourish.
Through the voices of victims, the book provides a poignant look at the devastation wrought by financial fraud, emphasizing the need for vigilance and reform.
“Getting Sheared” concludes with insights into how individuals and institutions can better protect themselves against financial fraud, promoting a dialogue on accountability and ethical financial practices.
“Guilty Until Proven Innocent” – Debanking – America’s Scandalous Process By Marty Sumichrast, January 2025
“De-banking” as defined by Wikipedia is:
“known within the banking industry as de-risking, is the closure of people’s or
organizations’ bank accounts by banks that perceive the account holders to
pose a financial, legal, regulatory, or reputational risk to the bank. Examples of
this include the enforcement of anti-corruption and anti-money
laundering laws, the closing of bank accounts of sex workers, and people
considered to be politically exposed persons. The closure of accounts is
generally performed without giving a reason and without the prospect of
appeal. De-banking can have severe consequences for individuals, as it cuts
them off from many activities in society.”
The term has gained traction after being discussed on a November 2024 The Joe Rogan Experience podcast with investor Marc Andreessen, in particular with respect to cryptocurrency assets. Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange has released statements that litigation with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), asking financial institutions to, “pause all crypto asset-
related activity.”
While I can understand that it may be in the best interest of banks to drop clients who have been found guilty of financial or regulatory acts or crimes, the idea that banks can drop clients who are merely accused in civil litigation is a scandalous act that should be banned.
In August 2020, I, Marty Sumichrast went to Wells Fargo in Charlotte to open an account for a new venture that I was starting called Adara Corporation. Adara ended up being a widely successful Special Purpose Vehicle (“SPAC”) where I raised over $120 million in equity and merged in Alliance Entertainment, Inc (NASD:AENT), a company with over $1 billion a year in sales and now a market cap of over $500 million. Less than 2 weeks after opening Adara’s accounts, we received letters saying that the accounts were to be closed – with no explanation.
Days afterward, my family, my kids, our family business accounts, credit cards, and everything tied to my social security number received letters from Wells Fargo closing those accounts associated with Marty Sumichrast. I tried to get an answer from Wells Fargo and was told “it was a bank decision”. Was it because Marty Sumichrast was the CEO of cbdMD, Inc. (NYSE:YCBD) and we were sometimes mixed in with cannabis banking regulations, although we had never had cannabis sales.
It took me years to discover after I was sued by the US Securities & Exchange Commission for a bogus shakedown (which I later won), that during the discovery process, we found that the SEC had subpoenaed Wells Fargo for all my bank statements prior to the debanking. Most likely the SEC secretive and bogus and politically motivated “investigation” had triggered the debanking process.
Then, in June 2022, after years of being a “high net worth client” with millions of dollars of business with TD Ameritrade, TD Ameritrade sent me, Marty Sumichrast, letters telling me they were closing my accounts. I had two weeks to sell or transfer all my securities and get my money out. They made it very difficult on me.
They offered no explanation, but its 100% certain that the bogus SEC
civil lawsuit was the reason. The irony to this story is that these two financial institutions, Wells Fargo in particular, has faced regulatory scrutiny, criminal enforcement actions and have paid billions of dollars in fines. Here is brief rap sheet from these two “high and mighty” financial institutions:
Marty Sumichrast on the Wells Fargo Rap Sheet:
Money laundering and sanctions
In September 2024, the OCC announced a formal agreement with Wells Fargo to address deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and sanctions risk management practices. The agreement requires Wells Fargo to take corrective actions and get the OCC’s permission before expanding into high-risk areas. The OCC did not impose a monetary penalty.
Asset cap
Wells Fargo is still subject to a Federal Reserve asset cap of $1.95 trillion until regulators are satisfied that the bank has fixed its problems. The cap was imposed after the 2016 fake accounts scandal, which led to billions of dollars in penalties and shareholder lawsuits.
Compliance issues
Wells Fargo has faced over $300 million in fines for compliance issues in the last two years. The bank has also been involved in a multiyear scheme that included misapplied loan payments, wrongful foreclosures, and more
Cross-selling scandal
In 2016, Wells Fargo was accused of creating millions of fraudulent accounts forcustomers without their knowledge or consent. The bank admitted to pressuring employees to meet sales goals, which led to the illegal activity. Wells Fargo paid $3 billion to settle the criminal and civil probes, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined the bank $185 million.
Obstructing a bank examination
Carrie Tolstedt, the former head of Wells Fargo’s retail bank, pleaded guilty to
obstructing a bank examination. She faced up to 16 months in prison and a $17 million civil penalty. However, she ultimately avoided prison time.
Synthetic identity fraud
A Wells Fargo account was opened using a combination of real and fake personal information, such as a name, Social Security number, and birth date. This is a type of synthetic identity fraud, which is when impostors use fake information to defraud financial institutions.
Marty Sumichrast on the TD Ameritrade Rap Sheet:
Money laundering settlement
In October 2024, TD Bank agreed to pay over $3 billion in penalties to resolve
investigations into money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act violations. The settlement was the result of a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The settlement included:
- A guilty plea to conspiracy to commit money laundering
- A $123.5 million fine from the Federal Reserve for AML compliance violations
- A restructuring of the bank’s corporate compliance program
- Three years of monitoring and five years of probation
- An accountability review to assess the involvement of TD Bank personnel
- A data governance review to help identify and fix gaps in the bank’s AML program
These two “recidivists” criminally charged institutions can by law cancel the accounts of me, Marty Sumichrast, after a mere accusation of a civil issue with no recourse or explanation. How is this even possible in America?
And I have learned that the process of debanking has happened in almost every case where the SEC attacks someone. Every person I spoke with has had their brokerage accounts closed with no explanation. Even after I won my case with no issues at all, Ameritrade, Charles Schwab and E*TRADE will not let me open accounts.
Marty Sumichrast on Regulations that Can Help
I encourage everyone who has had this happen to them to petition the Trump administration to pass regulations that make it illegal for financial institutions to cancel their customer accounts without at least providing an explanation and that reason cannot be that the customer is being “investigated” or “accused” of a civil act. There must be a process that allows adjudication to
halt the debanking process with some level of due process. Otherwise, the pillar of American law “innocent until proven guilty” is meaningless. It’s especially repugnant when it comes from the very institutions that themselves would be shuttered if held by their own very “high moral”
standards.
Those Who Live In Glass Houses Should Not Throw Stones.
Everyone Has The Right To Your Day In Court – Except For One (Not So Small) Challenge – When The $400 Billion Monster Say’s Go Ahead and Sue Me By Martin Sumichrast, January 2025
In 2020, I, Marty Sumichrast, was the Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO of cbdMD, Inc. I had taken the company public through an IPO in November 2017, and we had grown from an obscure small CBD brand to the 2 nd largest CBD brand in the world. We were growing exponentially, and we need a new highly integrated software system that would coordinate our financials, our inventory – everything. After much due diligence, we settled on one of the world’s best in class software leaders – Oracle Corporation.
Over the course of the next year, my team worked tirelessly to integrate the Oracle software into our systems. Anyone that has ever done this type of transition, knows two things. First, it always takes longer and second it always costs more.
The six months integration process turned into twelve and the $500,000 estimate turned into $1 million. For a small company with $50mm in sales and a market cap of $200 million, this process and its cost wasn’t a small undertaking. We knew the risk and we were willing to take it because we believed it was in long term best interest for the business. We signed a 5-year license contract with Oracle for them to “service” the system. After it was installed, we breathed a sigh of relief. The plane had taken off – or
so we thought.
A few months after “take-off”, there arrived an overnight letter package from the headquarters of Oracle Corporation in Austin Texas. Inside, on Oracle letterhead, addressed to cbdMD and signed by the General Counsel of Oracle, was a perfectly written legal letter, advising cbdMD, that within six months, Oracle would be canceling our contract and thus turning off the software system that we had just spent a million dollars to purchase and install. Their reason – and you can’t make this up – Oracle can’t
be in business with a CBD company.
My initial thought was there must have been some misunderstanding. A phone call from our General Counsel to theirs’s would certainly clear this up quickly. To our astonishment, the admission from Oracle was that they had a policy not to be engaged with CBD companies and when they contracted with us, they didn’t know we were in the CBD business, to which we fired back – “its in our name”. Regardless of their apparent inability to admit they fucked -up, they doubled down stating that cbdMD was in the cannabis business – which was federally illegal – and therefore they were prohibited to do business with us because we break the law.
We sent them our studies showing that we did not transact in the cannabis business and that this was verified by our very listing on the New York Stock Exchange American, which itself prohibits the listing of a cannabis company. We further explained that we could only list on the NYSE American upon the passage of the 2017 Farm Bill which legalized CBD in America. This all fell on deaf ears. Oracle had made its decision. The clock was ticking – you have 6 months. Period.
Now at this point of the story, you might be smacking your lips and thinking “what a juicy lawsuit we had”. My thoughts exactly at the time. So, I reached out to one of the best “pit-bull” litigators I know, and she reviewed all the
documents, send additional nasty threatening letters – all of which were met with one simple message – we don’t care – sue us if you want.
Was cbdMD in the right – yes. Could we have most likely prevailed – yes. But here comes the intersection of law and finance. Listen and learn.
In the Oracle contract, there wasn’t a provision that in the event of a breach, the party that loses pays court costs. Therefore, our choice was simple. Pay a lawyer $1mm to sue – and in case you think you could find a lawyer to take it on a contingency, I tried, and they all passed when they saw who was on the other side – or take a hike. In addition to having to shell out the legal fees, plan on it taking 2-3 years and sucking up hundreds of hours of your company’s personnel time.
And if you win, you may get awarded the $1mm you paid to install the system. But guess what – it all went to legal fees. As my late father used to say: “the only ones that win are the blood sucking lawyers”. I wasn’t into to moral victories, so we took our medicine, wrote off the investment and replaced the system with a smaller vendor at a cost of another $500k and another six months of time.
The lesson Marty Sumichrast learned about the American justice system is that you are always entitled to your day in court – if you can afford it.