ST. LOUIS — JLP Partners has filed a proposed class action alleging Husch Blackwell materially assisted fraud and breaches of fiduciary duty at Visionary Private Equity Group I, a private equity fund that raised about $90 million from roughly 1,000 investors.
The complaint seeks to represent people and entities that purchased or acquired interests in Visionary Private Equity Group, known as VPEG, through June 4, 2025, using subscription materials directed to, processed through or bearing the name of Husch Blackwell.
JLP alleges the fund’s principals diverted investor money for personal and affiliated purposes while providing investors with inflated portfolio valuations and unsupported projections of future distributions, according to a complaint filed Aug. 13 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division.
The allegations are claims in a civil complaint and have not been adjudicated.
JLP alleges that Husch Blackwell partner Michael Cosby was deeply involved in VPEG’s operations while serving as the fund’s senior managing director and general counsel.
According to the complaint, Cosby co-controlled VPEG bank accounts, prepared tax filings, executed wire transfers, oversaw the investment subscription process and used the law firm’s Springfield, Missouri, office, phone number, email and other systems in connection with the fund.
The lawsuit contends that Husch Blackwell served as VPEG’s outside counsel and was identified in the fund’s subscription booklet as legal counsel for the management and operation of the partnership.
The materials allegedly directed prospective investors to send completed subscription paperwork and questions to Cosby at Husch Blackwell’s Springfield office.
JLP says the firm’s name and standing were used to lend legitimacy to the investment offerings.
VPEG was formed in 2010 as a private equity vehicle intended to invest across companies in sectors including technology, health care, energy, consumer products and entertainment, according to the complaint. Instead, JLP alleges, the fund misappropriated millions of dollars of investor money to its principals and affiliated companies and used new investor money to make payments to existing investors in a “Ponzi-like fashion.”
The complaint names VPEG principals Dr. Ronald Zamber, Robert Grenley and Cosby in its factual allegations.
It says that since January 2021, VPEG received about $55 million in cash receipts while recording $57.4 million in cash expenditures.
During that period, the complaint says, Zamber received about $4.7 million in direct payments, Grenley received about $734,000 and Cosby received about $655,000.
Non-insider limited partners, meanwhile, received about $3 million in distributions, according to the filing.
JLP alleges that more than $10 million was also funneled to affiliated entities, including Visionary Entertainment and Media and Visionary Media Group, with another $1.2 million in expenses paid on their behalf.
The complaint says VPEG paid approximately $1.6 million to Visionary Fund Manager LLC, an affiliated entity controlled by Zamber and Cosby, in purported management fees since 2021, without adequately disclosing the basis, calculation or ultimate use of the payments.
The lawsuit further alleges that VPEG promoted inflated valuations and distribution projections despite the deteriorating financial condition of several portfolio companies.
It says the fund had not undergone an independent audit since 2011, despite provisions in its partnership agreement requiring annual independent audits.
In their absence, the complaint alleges, VPEG used an internally created “mark to market” method that valued portfolio companies at multiples of the fund’s invested basis without independent support.
Among the examples cited in the complaint, VPEG allegedly valued its stake in Victory Clean Energy at about $19 million after investing about $840,500, while projecting distributions of $5 million to $50 million per year from 2025 through 2027.
The filing says Victory Clean Energy reported nearly $7.8 million in accumulated losses in 2024 and expressed doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.
The complaint also alleges that VPEG valued Shop4E at $4.1 million despite the company reporting zero revenue in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
VPEG’s financial condition ultimately deteriorated to the point of insolvency, the complaint alleges.
It says the fund had approximately $218,000 in its bank accounts at the end of 2023 after net losses exceeding $10 million, and that its cash balance reached zero by August 2025.
The filing says the fund fell behind on rent, insurance, vendor obligations and required minimum distributions owed to IRA investors.
A receiver was appointed over VPEG and Visionary Fund Manager on June 4, 2025, after findings of “gross mismanagement, self-dealing and the Fund’s apparent insolvency,” according to the complaint.
The filing also cites findings that there was an imminent danger of further dissipation of fund assets.
JLP says it invested $100,000 in VPEG in May 2023 after receiving materials that described the fund as mature and entering its “harvest season,” with a distribution anticipated later that year.
The complaint alleges that JLP submitted its subscription paperwork to Cosby at Husch Blackwell’s Springfield office.
It asserts claims against Husch Blackwell for aiding and abetting fraud, aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty, and violation of the Missouri Securities Act.
The suit seeks class certification, damages, rescission or actual damages where applicable, interest, costs, attorney fees, punitive damages and a jury trial.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division case number: 4:26-cv-01298
