May 2026 (New York)
United States Attorney’s Office Announces Conviction of GWG Holdings Chairman Bradley Hepner
On May 7, 2026, Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced that Bradley Hepner of Dallas, TX, the former chairman of GWG Holdings, Inc. has been found guilty by a jury of securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, and making false statements to auditors.
According to Clayton:
“A unanimous jury has found former public company CEO and Chairman Bradley Heppner guilty of fraudulently extracting $150 million,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Heppner used shell companies to hide his scheme. When his house of cards began to collapse, he did not come clean. Instead, he doubled down by falsifying emails and backdating documents to lie to the auditors, directors, and the SEC. Our world-leading capital markets are built on trust and transparency. The honesty and candor of C-Suite executives is essential, and this action should send a message: C-Suite executives who breach the public trust will be pursued by the SDNY’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force and our dedicated partners at FBI, vigorously. That is what investors and the American people want and deserve.”
Findings at trial include the following:
- Between 2018 and 2021, HEPPNER, as chairman of GWG Holdings, Inc.—a Nasdaq-listed financial services company that raised capital through bonds sold predominantly to retail investors and retirees
- Hepner executed a scheme to fraudulently divert GWG funds to his own benefit through a shell company he controlled, the Highland Consolidated Limited Partnership (“HCLP”)
- HEPPNER fabricated a $141 million debt that Beneficient, a subsidiary of GWG that HEPPNER had founded, purportedly owed to HCLP. Under the guise of repaying that debt
- HEPPNER told the board of directors of GWG that it was necessary to transfer millions of dollars to Beneficient
- HEPPNER falsely represented that HCLP was independent and disclaimed any personal financial interest in payments made on the purported debt
- To conceal the scheme, HEPPNER made false and misleading statements and caused the preparation of backdated and fraudulent documents to deceive auditors in connection with their assessment of whether HCLP was independent of HEPPNER
- After GWG received a subpoena from the SEC, HEPPNER also falsified the minutes of an October 2019 board meeting, adding language to create the false appearance that he had previously disclosed to Beneficient his history of borrowing funds from HCLP, and caused the falsified minutes to be transmitted to the SEC
Sentencing of Heppner before Judge Jed S. Rakoff is scheduled for October 7, 2026. He faces a maximum sentence of 65 years.
Investors May Recover Losses on GWG L Bonds
GWG L Bond investors are facing significant losses following the filing of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2022. Total GWG L Bond sales to investors may exceed $1.3 billion.
If you are one of the thousands of investors who purchased GWG L Bonds, you likely were misled as to the fact that these investments were high-risk and illiquid. Many advisors failed to adequately disclose the risk associated with these investments. If your advisor failed to fully advise you of the risks you should consider filing a FINRA arbitration to recover your losses.
We are currently representing investors seeking recovery of losses on GWG L Bonds.
Contingent fee representation and there is no charge to evaluate your claim.
Rex Securities Law
With offices in Boca Raton, FL and Austin, TX, stockbroker fraud attorney Rex Securities Law provides representation to investors nationwide who are seeking recovery of investment losses due to the negligence or fraud of stockbrokers, financial advisors and broker dealers.
If you have questions about how your account has been handled, call (877) 224-3199 to speak with an experienced securities attorney at no cost to you.
Most cases are handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.