America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
n businessman and former accountant who built the infamous penny stock brokerage firm, First Jersey Securities. The firm specialized in promoting " Pump and dump" penny stocks to unsuspecting investors, many of them elderly, who lost their entire investments when the stocks inevitably crashed.
Early life
Brennan grew up in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark.
Career
First Jersey
As a result of this penny stock scheme, Brennan became a target of the
Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
. First Jersey itself went bankrupt in 1987 and Brennan was found guilty of securities fraud in 1994. He was ordered to pay $75 million to settle the fraud claims.
Brennan declared bankruptcy in 1995 but committed another fraud when he did not declare all of his assets to the court. Brennan withheld from the bankruptcy court that he held $500,000 in casino chips that he had purchased (and later cashed out of after his bankruptcy) and $4 million in municipal bonds he kept in his basement. He then directed an associate to liquidate the bonds overseas and invest them in stocks, which netted him $16 million in ill-gotten gains.
Brennan was also a
Certified Public Accountant
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
but his license was revoked as a result of his criminal conviction.
Money laundering
In 2001 Brennan was found guilty of money-laundering and bankruptcy fraud and sentenced to a
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
term of nine years and two months. On appeal, in 2003 the sentence was upheld. Brennan served part of his sentence at the Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, New Jersey. He was released on January 14, 2011, from Fort Dix and was sent to another less harsh prison until July which is when he was released.
Thoroughbred racing
International Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc., a publicly held company founded and chaired by Brennan, financed the reconstruction of Garden State Park race track in Cherry Hill, New Jersey after it was taken out by a 1977 fire. The grandstand reopened in 1985, closed in 2001, was demolished, and the property redeveloped. Brennan also owned and raced
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
s under the name Due Process Stable. The best known of his horses were Eclipse Award winners Deputy Minister and his son
Dehere
Dehere (April 13, 1991 - c. May 16, 2014) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred and raced by Robert E. Brennan's Due Process Stable. Sired by Canadian Hall of Fame inductee and two-time North American Champion sire, De ...
, who was bred by Brennan.
Brennan also built and owned the Due Process Stable Golf Club in
Colts Neck Township, New Jersey
Colts Neck Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 9,957, down from the 10,142 counted in the 2010 census, i ...
, where he lived until his arrest in 2001.
Personal life
His first wife, Cecelia, was his childhood sweetheart. His second wife was Patricia A.(Brennan)Laus - no children. A major benefactor to
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...
, following his conviction the university's board of governors had Brennan's name removed from a recreation center on its campus in
South Orange, New Jersey
South Orange, officially the Township of South Orange Village, is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village's population was 16,198, reflecting a decline of 766 (4.5%) fro ...
. Brennan is an alumnus of Seton Hall University and sat on its board of regents.