Samuel Mancini, 57, was CEO of the Denver firm Outdoor Capital Partners. (LinkedIn)
A Denver CEO has been sentenced to 71 months in prison and ordered to repay $10.6 million after admitting that he defrauded investors in several Italian cycling companies.
Samuel Mancini, 57, received the sentence in a Newark, N.J., courtroom Wednesday. He is scheduled to report to federal prison officials in Colorado on April 2.
“It’s good to get him off the street,” said one purported victim, Mike Caplinger of Denver.
Mancini pleaded guilty in April 2022 to one count of securities fraud. He admitted that while running the Denver firm Outdoor Capital Partners in 2020 and 2021, he told investors that he was raising $20 million for the acquisition of three Italian cycling companies.
Investors were promised 70 percent of the cycling companies’ profits, but he never acquired those companies. Instead, Mancini diverted investor money and in some cases made Ponzi-like payments to investors who demanded returns, according to his plea agreement.
In order to entice investors who were military veterans, Mancini also claimed to have graduated from West Point, he admits now. In reality, he dropped out of the academy.
“History is littered with criminals similar to Mancini who think they will ultimately walk away with the millions they’ve stolen,” James Dennehy, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark office, said in a statement after the sentencing. “It never works. At the end of the day, victims aren’t just going to accept their money is gone and not demand justice.”
Mancini, of Denver, was prosecuted in New Jersey because at least one of his 32 victims lives there. Others live in Colorado and Florida, according to past media reports.
Mancini attorney Timothy Donohue argued Wednesday that his client should receive a reduced sentence because he admitted guilt, had no previous criminal record, and has paid restitution of $100,000 already, according to a report in Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Repole pushed for more than 71 months, claiming Mancini worked at Seasonal Tire Storage in Denver while awaiting sentencing and, while there, used a company credit card without permission, according to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.
Judge Claire Cecchi stuck to sentencing guidelines and sentenced Mancini to 71 months.
“He has not yet been convicted of what he did here,” Caplinger, the owner of Seasonal Tire Storage, told BusinessDen on Wednesday. “I’ve been working with law enforcement.”
Caplinger hired Mancini in July 2023 — after he pleaded guilty — initially as a driver and then for office work. Mancini helped the company find a new warehouse to move into.
“I had done my research on him, I knew what he had done, and I was never going to put him in a position where he would have access to my money,” Caplinger said.
“But he found two ways to get access to my money.”
The first was the company’s payroll system, which Mancini used to send himself money, according to Caplinger. Then, as the two of them were moving Seasonal Tire Storage from one warehouse to the next in November, Mancini quit abruptly, leaving Caplinger exhausted and distracted. Looking back, Caplinger believes this was by design.
“He went on a shopping spree with my American Express card, which didn’t have limits,” he said of Mancini in the weeks after he resigned. “He did a ton of damage before I realized it. Expensive clothing, expensive lodging and travel, two large dental bills, car rentals, airfare. He managed to spend more money in 30 days than I’ve ever imagined spending.”
Caplinger said that several law enforcement agencies are investigating the alleged theft. In the meantime, the business owner is glad that Mancini is going to prison for another fraud.
“We’re going to be strong and we’re going to come through this but it had a huge impact on me, personally,” he said. “I just never imagined I would fall victim to somebody like that.”
Samuel Mancini, 57, was CEO of the Denver firm Outdoor Capital Partners. (LinkedIn)
A Denver CEO has been sentenced to 71 months in prison and ordered to repay $10.6 million after admitting that he defrauded investors in several Italian cycling companies.
Samuel Mancini, 57, received the sentence in a Newark, N.J., courtroom Wednesday. He is scheduled to report to federal prison officials in Colorado on April 2.
“It’s good to get him off the street,” said one purported victim, Mike Caplinger of Denver.
Mancini pleaded guilty in April 2022 to one count of securities fraud. He admitted that while running the Denver firm Outdoor Capital Partners in 2020 and 2021, he told investors that he was raising $20 million for the acquisition of three Italian cycling companies.
Investors were promised 70 percent of the cycling companies’ profits, but he never acquired those companies. Instead, Mancini diverted investor money and in some cases made Ponzi-like payments to investors who demanded returns, according to his plea agreement.
In order to entice investors who were military veterans, Mancini also claimed to have graduated from West Point, he admits now. In reality, he dropped out of the academy.
“History is littered with criminals similar to Mancini who think they will ultimately walk away with the millions they’ve stolen,” James Dennehy, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark office, said in a statement after the sentencing. “It never works. At the end of the day, victims aren’t just going to accept their money is gone and not demand justice.”
Mancini, of Denver, was prosecuted in New Jersey because at least one of his 32 victims lives there. Others live in Colorado and Florida, according to past media reports.
Mancini attorney Timothy Donohue argued Wednesday that his client should receive a reduced sentence because he admitted guilt, had no previous criminal record, and has paid restitution of $100,000 already, according to a report in Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Repole pushed for more than 71 months, claiming Mancini worked at Seasonal Tire Storage in Denver while awaiting sentencing and, while there, used a company credit card without permission, according to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.
Judge Claire Cecchi stuck to sentencing guidelines and sentenced Mancini to 71 months.
“He has not yet been convicted of what he did here,” Caplinger, the owner of Seasonal Tire Storage, told BusinessDen on Wednesday. “I’ve been working with law enforcement.”
Caplinger hired Mancini in July 2023 — after he pleaded guilty — initially as a driver and then for office work. Mancini helped the company find a new warehouse to move into.
“I had done my research on him, I knew what he had done, and I was never going to put him in a position where he would have access to my money,” Caplinger said.
“But he found two ways to get access to my money.”
The first was the company’s payroll system, which Mancini used to send himself money, according to Caplinger. Then, as the two of them were moving Seasonal Tire Storage from one warehouse to the next in November, Mancini quit abruptly, leaving Caplinger exhausted and distracted. Looking back, Caplinger believes this was by design.
“He went on a shopping spree with my American Express card, which didn’t have limits,” he said of Mancini in the weeks after he resigned. “He did a ton of damage before I realized it. Expensive clothing, expensive lodging and travel, two large dental bills, car rentals, airfare. He managed to spend more money in 30 days than I’ve ever imagined spending.”
Caplinger said that several law enforcement agencies are investigating the alleged theft. In the meantime, the business owner is glad that Mancini is going to prison for another fraud.
“We’re going to be strong and we’re going to come through this but it had a huge impact on me, personally,” he said. “I just never imagined I would fall victim to somebody like that.”
