The wife of Bed Bath & Beyond executive Gustavo Arnal was present at the plush New York City apartment on Friday when he jumped to his death from the 18th floor of the building, according to reports. Arnal, 52, who was the chief financial officer of the troubled retailer, didn't say a single word to his wife Alexandra Cadenas-Arnal before committing suicide.
Also, Arnal didn't leave behind any suicide note explaining the reason behind taking such a decision, police sources said. However, it has been revealed that Arnal was facing a $1.2 billion "pump-and-dump" stock-fraud suit when he apparently leaped to his death on Friday afternoon.
Giving No Indication
According to law enforcement sources, Arnal jumped from the 18th floor of the iconic new Tribeca skyscraper known as the 'Jenga tower' in lower Manhattan on Friday around 12:20 am on Friday. His wife, Alexandra Cadenas-Arnal was present at the home at that time and didn't have any idea that her husband was vulnerable to suicide.
According to The New York Post, he also didn't leave a message outlining the reason behind jumping from the famed "Jenga" tower in Tribeca, lower Manhattan. Around 10:35 on Sunday morning, Arnal's distraught widow and two grown daughters appeared to have left the TriBeCa high-rise to make funeral arrangements.
A doorman approached the weeping women and said, "I'm so very, very sorry," as two men dressed in black escorted them to a waiting black van.
Arnal and Alexandra were married for 28 years. According to a person acquainted with the property, Arnal and his wife paid roughly $18,500 per month to rent a stunning three-bedroom in the tower known as the "Jenga building" because of its distinctive architecture.
At the time of his death, Arnal was facing a $1.2 billion "pump-and-dump" stock fraud lawsuit filed against him two weeks ago.
In a listing that was updated two weeks ago on apartments.com, there is a big remark that reads, "Check Back Soon for Upcoming Availability."
Arnal spent about three years in London where he held similar positions at the retail pharmaceutical company Walgreens Boots Alliance before being appointed the chief financial officer at the troubled Bed Bath & Beyond chain, headquartered in Union, New Jersey, in 2020.
Troubling Last Days
According to his LinkedIn page, Arnal previously spent 20 years working in finance for Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble, where he also held positions in Switzerland and Brazil.
According to authorities, complaints of the Friday afternoon jump at 56 Leonard Street near Church Street started to come in around 12:30 p.m. According to the New York Post, Arnal was identified as the jumper at the 57-story building on Friday afternoon. Apartments there can cost up to $50 million.
The city's EMS officials responded to the incident and were seen carrying the man's body off in a black body bag.
According to Reuters, Arnal sold 55,013 shares of Bed Bath & Beyond on August 16. The action was taken just before Bed Bath & Beyond announced that, as part of a restructuring plan to strengthen its loss-making business, it would close 150 stores and lay off about 20% of its 32,000 employees.
According to DailyMail.com, Arnal was named as one of the defendants in a class action complaint filed by a group of shareholders who allege they lost almost $1.2 billion as a result of Arnal and majority shareholder Ryan Cohen engaging in a "pump and dump" scam just one week before he passed away.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed on August 23 to the District of Columbia's federal court, Cohen spoke with Arnal about a scheme to get control of shares of Bed Bath & Beyond so they could both profit.
As part of the plan, the lawsuit claims, Arnal "agreed to regulate all insider sales by BBBY's officers and directors to ensure that the market would not be inundated with a large number of BBBY shares at a given time."
He then allegedly issued "materially misleading statements made to investors regarding BBBY's strategic company plans, financial condition... and reports of shares holding and selling" to help increase share prices.
The class action lawsuit was filed by Pengcheng Si, a resident of Virginia, on behalf of everyone who bought Bed Bath & Beyond stock between March 25 and August 18.
In their current lawsuit, they claim Cohen offered to buy a sizable part in the business, including call options on more than 1.6 million shares at values ranging from $60 to $80. They are now demanding damages for the alleged "pump and dump" scam. At the time, the "meme stock champion" of Canadian descent invested $131 million in shares.
Arnal would guarantee that insiders wouldn't oversupply the market with the shares in return, the lawsuit claims.
A statement from Bed Bath & Beyond was released on Sunday to confirm Arnal's passing. "The entire Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. organization is profoundly saddened by this shocking loss," the statement said.
Harriet Edelman, chairwoman of the company's board of directors, added in the release, "I wish to extend our sincerest condolences to Gustavo's family.
"Gustavo will be remembered by all he worked with for his leadership, talent and stewardship of our Company. I am proud to have been his colleague, and he will be truly missed by all of us at Bed Bath & Beyond and everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
"Our focus is on supporting his family and his team and our thoughts are with them during this sad and difficult time," Edelman said. "Please join us in respecting the family's privacy."
