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Litigation brought by funds of Republic Capital against venture capital fund Romulus Capital and one of its co-founders Neil Chheda alleges, among other things, that Chheda was effectively short the privately held shares of EquipmentShare — a company where he served as a member of the board and his fund had invested in.

With lead plaintiff Republic Maximal (a Republic fund), the complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts which was originally filed in March of 2022, had a big update on 31 October 2025.

The update accuses Romulus and Chheda of fraud stemming from transactions involving the purchase and sale of LP Interests in a special purpose vehicle that holds shares of Series A-1 preferred stock in EquipmentShare.

The Republic litigation and its request for sanctions include allegations that Neil Chheda defrauded plaintiffs through misrepresentations and false valuations to plaintiffs about their shares, which places Chheda in a short position against EquipmentShare.

The complaint tells a colorful story of “serial fraudsters”, forged signatures — including of one person who is deceased, missing and destroyed documents, an intern who played a big role at the company but turned out not to exist, and false valuations.