Jamie Dimon’s son-in-law has been caught up in an unsightly dispute with a Texas-based vitality government, who has accused him, together with private-equity big Apollo Global Management, of orchestrating a scheme to stiff the oil-and-gas driller out of his stake within the profitable firm he constructed.
Joey Romeo — a Princeton-educated buyout government who married his Harvard Enterprise Faculty sweetheart, Julia Dimon, in 2011 — is a part of a gaggle of Apollo execs accused of luring Varun Mishra right into a partnership that ultimately turned bitter, with Mishra alleging he bought cheated out of $21 million, in keeping with an explosive arbitration declare Mishra filed final month.
After tapping Mishra’s experience on pure fuel and petroleum to construct an vitality enterprise, Romeo and different Apollo executives allegedly pushed him out as CEO – a coup that got here shortly after Mishra raised questions on thousands and thousands of {dollars} that Romeo had ordered be charged to the corporate’s expense accounts, in keeping with the submitting.
Folks near Apollo denied that any bills paid by Varun’s firm had been inappropriate.
The spat presents a uncommon glimpse inside not solely the rough-and-tumble world of private-equity offers, but in addition the enterprise of members of the family of the billionaire boss of JPMorgan Chase, who’ve largely saved a low profile.
Romeo, now in his late 30s, owns a unit in 1185 Park Ave. – two flooring beneath the legendary banking tycoon – a $7 million, 3,825-square-foot unfold that’s the former dwelling of iconic furnishings designer Vladimir Kagan, property information present.
Except for just a few marriage ceremony snaps on social media, one of many few publicly accessible images of Romeo surfaced in a controversial December 2013 Christmas card, by which Dimon and his household romped across the palatial residence hitting tennis balls. In a single shot, Romeo was caught leaping barefoot over furnishings.
Romeo has been at Apollo since 2013 – and was introduced on board on the urging of the late, legendary JPMorgan dealmaker Jimmy Lee, in keeping with sources. Earlier than Apollo, Romeo had been an affiliate at GE Capital’s Power Monetary Companies enterprise.
“Jimmy referred to as lots of people to say, ‘Rent Joey,’” a supply with data of Apollo advised The Submit. “Joey didn’t undergo the traditional recruitment course of.”
MIshra, in the meantime, claims that Romeo bought snooty and sarcastic as their enterprise relationship steadily went south.
“Joseph Romeo might be described as an individual who consistently belittles you,” Mishra, a 41-year-old Indian immigrant who got here to the US as a pupil, stated in a written assertion to The Submit. “With out figuring out me – or my immigration historical past – he commented on me that ‘Isn’t it too straightforward for you all to generate profits?’”
Romeo, who is called as a defendant within the arbitration declare together with Apollo and different varied present and former staff on the agency, didn’t reply to The Submit’s request for remark.
An Apollo spokesman advised The Submit that Mishra was “disgruntled” and stated that he had been fired “for trigger.” The spokesman added that Mishra had engaged six totally different units of attorneys and filed a earlier arbitration demand, “which he voluntarily withdrew.”
“We strongly help our staff and categorically reject Mr. Mishra’s false, defamatory and consistently altering allegations,” the Apollo spokesman stated.
Mishra advised The Submit he withdrew a earlier arbitration declare as a result of he believed it gave him a greater probability to settle with Apollo. After that settlement fell aside, Mishra stated he filed the present one.
In accordance with Mishra’s declare, Apollo executives approached him in 2015 to supply not less than $400 million to construct out a enterprise that might ultimately develop into American Petroleum Companions. Below the settlement, Mishra would contribute Pennsylvania wells he’d amassed and function CEO on an H1-B visa whereas Apollo would offer the capital for growth.
However the subsequent yr, Apollo and Romeo pulled the rug out on Mishra, axing a deal for APP to accumulate a serious pure fuel fracking firm for $360 million – solely to show round and scoop up the corporate via one other agency by which some Apollo principals had been “possible direct or oblique beneficiaries,” in keeping with arbitration papers.
Regardless of allegedly getting shortchanged by Apollo on the fracking deal, Mishra had already dedicated his wells to the APP enterprise, in keeping with the criticism.
By that point, Mishra advised The Submit, he seen Romeo had been approving bills for Apollo executives’ limousines and different high-end journey to be paid for out of American Petroleum. In accordance with Mishra’s swimsuit, Romeo was siphoning “a number of thousands and thousands of {dollars}” out of Mishra’s enterprise to pad the accounts of Apollo and its associates.
Mishra alleges that Romeo had directed Collin King, then-APP’s chief monetary officer, to “make substantial funds to Apollo with out Mishra’s data of approval.”
“Earlier than he was fired, to my data, he by no means alleged that the corporate reimbursed bills — to Apollo or anybody else — that weren’t 100% official firm bills,” King, who now works for APP’s successor firm Excessive Street Sources, advised The Submit. “Romeo by no means directed me to approve any inappropriate bills, and I by no means did so.”
MIshra and his legal professional each advised The Submit that he had certainly raised the difficulty of inappropriate bills with King and with Romeo straight.
Mishra claims he rang alarm bells, bringing it to Romeo’s supervisor’s consideration, however his protests blew up in his face. On Nov. 7, 2019, Romeo traveled to Canonsburg, Pa., along with his boss, Olivia Wassenaar, to confront Mishra. They demanded he resign and settle for a “paltry” payout — saying in any other case “he could be terminated for trigger,” the submitting claims.
Mishra refused, noting in his arbitration submitting that he’d by no means been reprimanded or warned – not to mention disciplined – for his efficiency as APP’s president and CEO, nor had he obtained any written discover of any violations of his employment settlement.
The allegations come as Apollo is beneath a consent decree from 2016 after the Securities and Exchange Commission stated an Apollo senior companion improperly charged bills to sure company-run funds. If Mishra’s claims are discovered to have advantage, they might set off one other SEC probe of Apollo’s practices, sources advised The Submit.
Ernest Badway, a companion at legislation agency Fox Rothschild, stated the optics of the allegations “look terrible,” however added that they’re not essentially unlawful. “Sadly, it might be misallocating bills” if Apollo companions charged journey and different outlays to APP as a substitute of the agency itself, Badway stated.
“The SEC has began investigations with a lot lower than this,” he stated. Nonetheless, Badway stated, SEC regulators will give attention to who was doubtlessly harmed by Romeo and Apollo’s alleged actions; if buyers didn’t endure any losses – and solely Mishra did – regulators is likely to be much less apt to probe the scenario.
In the meantime, Apollo bought APP’s property in 2020 to Quantum Power Companions-owned Tug Hill Working for round $30 million, the arbitration declare alleges. In Might of final yr, Quantum bought its property – together with the previous APP’s – to Premier Pure Sources for $6 billion, the declare alleges.
Mishra obtained round $700,000 for his APP stake after the Tug sale, however he claims he ought to have obtained $21 million primarily based on what the property resold for – together with the $10 million in capital he put up when he inked a take care of Apollo.
