Former CEO imprisoned for $11 million scheme to acquire top Italian cycling brands

A cycling investor and former CEO of Outdoor Capital Partners – a fund set to invest in a group of cycling companies – received a 71-month prison sentence for securities fraud, on Tuesday.

Samuel J. Mancini fraudulently raised nearly $11 million from investors to acquire top Italian cycling brands, including Gruppo Srl – the parent of Cinelli and Columbus – De Rosa, De Marchi Apparel, and Limar Helmets. However, none of the acquisitions were completed, and investors say their investments were not returned. 

“This defendant concocted an elaborate scheme to swindle unsuspecting victims out of their hard-earned money. His lies and theft were successful to the tune of $11 million – right up to the moment law enforcement caught up with him. He will now spend the next several years of his life in prison, a just punishment for his crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger in a statement.

At the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, the Colorado man stood accused of engaging in a Ponzi-like scheme, which included misrepresentations about fund operations, his background, and his contribution to the fund.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, Mancini managed and controlled Outdoor Capital Partners LLC (OCP), which he presented to be a venture capital and private equity firm. 

In turn, OCP served as the managing director of OCP Italia Fund LLC (OCP Italia), a private investment fund. Mancini used both OCP and OCP Italia to engage in his fraudulent scheme, in which he promised cycling investors he was raising $20 million, including $5 million of his own money, for OCP Italia to acquire the aforementioned Italian legacy brands. The incentive offered to investors was approximately 70 percent of OCP Italia’s operating profits. 

Mancini assured investors that the acquisitions would take place soon after the fund closed. However, the acquisitions were never completed, and Mancini was found to have repeatedly misrepresented his education, his finances and OCP Italia’s ability to close on the acquisitions. He was also found to have defaulted on contracts, forged or modified documents and financial records, and diverted investor funds out of OCP Italia.

Mancini was arrested in July 2021 on federal securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering charges. During Tuesday’s five-hour hearing, Mancini faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine for the securities fraud count. 

Court documents reveal that Judge Claire Cecchi ultimately decided on 71-month prison term with three years of supervised release and a restitution of  $10,615.000 to be paid back to the investors her defrauded.

Mancini still faces a second civil case that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is prosecuting.