Cold Bore Capital Lawsuits: CEO Claims and Optio Rx Bankruptcy

Cold Bore Capital, the Chicago private equity firm led by Sergio Zepeda and Matt Schachman, is a defendant in several lawsuits tied largely to the collapse and 2024 bankruptcy of its compounding pharmacy portfolio company, Optio Rx. The claims include tortious interference, breach of contract, unpaid wages, and whistleblower retaliation, brought by two former Optio Rx chief executives and a former Cold Bore-affiliated employee. A separate federal case filed in New York in early 2026 names Cold Bore’s investment funds and Zepeda personally, and the fund entities are on track for default after failing to appear.¹

Who Cold Bore Capital Is

Cold Bore Capital Management LLC is a veteran-led private equity firm founded in 2017 and headquartered at 311 South Wacker Drive in Chicago.² It targets micro-cap and lower-middle-market businesses and reported roughly $144 million in private fund assets under management in its April 2025 Form ADV.³ The firm has raised at least three funds since 2021.

Wank: The Former CEO’s Tortious Interference Suit

The most detailed action is by Marc H. Wank, the former CEO of Optio Rx. Wank sued Optio Rx, Cold Bore Capital Management, and Sergio Zepeda in Davidson County, Tennessee, on August 31, 2023 (Case No. 23C2046).⁴ An earlier federal version had been dismissed in July 2023 for lack of diversity jurisdiction.⁵

Wank’s complaint alleges that Optio Rx terminated him without cause on April 27, 2022, and then withheld severance, benefits, and equity owed under a Management Profit Participation Plan tied to his April 29, 2018 employment agreement. He alleges the timing was engineered to occur before his final 20% equity tranche vested.⁴

Against Cold Bore and Zepeda specifically, Wank asserts a claim for procurement of breach of contract, alleging they induced Optio Rx to breach his employment agreement. He seeks treble damages under Tennessee Code Annotated section 47-50-109.⁴

The complaint further alleges that Cold Bore acted as an alter ego of Optio Rx, exercising “substantial control” over operations, personnel, and finances. Wank claims Cold Bore:

Pressured Optio Rx to acquire unprofitable pharmacies without proper due diligence, resulting in breached bank covenants.
Directed Optio to use a particular business broker who had invested $225,000 into Cold Bore itself.
Cashed out its investment in Optio Rx at a two-times multiple without disclosing the transaction or offering a comparable opportunity to other stakeholders.
Progressively stripped Wank’s authority and created a fictitious executive role to displace him.
Made age-related remarks about wanting a “fresh face” and “someone younger,” and replaced him with a significantly younger employee.

These are allegations from the complaint and have not been adjudicated. Schachman is described in the narrative but is not a formal defendant.⁴

When Optio Rx filed for bankruptcy in June 2024, Wank filed a limited response in the Delaware bankruptcy court. He did not oppose rejection of his employment contract but asked the court to preserve his claims against Cold Bore and Zepeda in Tennessee and to allow him to file a proof of claim.⁴ The Tennessee case against Cold Bore and Zepeda remained pending as of the most recent available filings.

The Optio Rx Bankruptcy Behind the Litigation

Optio Rx, LLC and 26 affiliated pharmacy entities filed Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on June 7, 2024 (Case No. 24-11188). The company employed about 260 people, with estimated assets of $10 million to $50 million and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.⁶

The parent was non-debtor CBC Pharma HoldCo, LLC, a Cold Bore-affiliated entity. Prepetition lien claims totaled $127.6 million, noteholder claims about $73.8 million, and seller note claims roughly $30 million, with general unsecured trade creditors holding about $2 million. Noteholders and seller noteholders were slated for 0% recovery.⁷ The court confirmed the Second Amended Joint Chapter 11 Plan on October 17, 2024, and it became effective on March 21, 2025. All prior equity interests in the debtors were cancelled.⁸

Patel: Whistleblower and Wage Claims from a Second Former CEO

Dr. Rinku Patel, the pharmacist who succeeded Wank as Optio Rx CEO, was terminated on February 5, 2024. She sued in Cook County, Illinois, on July 22, 2024, naming CBC Pharma HoldCo LLC, Pharmacy Management LLC, and several individual officers and board members.⁹

Her claims include breach of contract, unpaid wages under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, whistleblower retaliation under the Illinois Whistleblower Act, and retaliatory discharge. Patel alleges she was fired after reporting regulatory failings to the company’s board and to CBC Pharma HoldCo. She also asserts that Cold Bore Capital Management LLC originally executed her December 10, 2021 employment agreement on Optio’s behalf, and that later managers inherited those obligations.¹⁰

The debtors moved in Delaware to enforce the automatic stay and void the Illinois action. Patel then amended her complaint to drop Optio as a defendant, arguing her remaining claims targeted only non-debtors. The case was removed to federal court and was pending as of March 2025 as Case No. 24 C 8110 in the Northern District of Illinois.¹⁰¹¹

Wartak: Unpaid Bonus Claims Dismissed on Settlement

Seth Wartak filed two federal suits in the District of South Carolina against CBC Operations Group, LLC (doing business as Cold Bore Capital), Zepeda, Schachman, and Daniel Quinn. Wartak I (Case No. 6:23-cv-00699) was filed on January 18, 2023, and a second case (No. 6:24-cv-00173) was removed from state court and consolidated with the first by Chief Judge Timothy M. Cain in June 2024.¹²

The consolidated action alleged unpaid bonuses under the South Carolina Wage Payment Act, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment. On November 6, 2024, Judge Cain issued a 60-day settlement dismissal order, dismissing the case without prejudice with either party able to reinstate within 60 days if the settlement failed.¹²

Saponaro: The 2026 New York Federal Case

The most recent action is Saponaro v. CBCF II D, LLC, filed by Joseph Saponaro and Gary Weksler in the Southern District of New York in early 2026. The defendants are CBCF II D, LLC; Cold Bore Capital Fund III, L.P.; Cold Bore Capital GP III, LLC; and Sergio Zepeda personally. The case is No. 26 Civ. 108 before Judge Lorna G. Schofield.¹

The substantive claims are not detailed in the available filings, but the procedural posture is significant. All defendants were served on January 21, 2026. By late February, counsel for the Cold Bore fund entities had not appeared, and the court ordered the plaintiffs to move for default judgment against them by March 20, 2026.¹³ Zepeda separately obtained an extension, with his response due March 18, 2026, and must follow the court’s pre-motion letter procedures if he seeks to move to dismiss.¹

What the Regulatory Record Shows

None of these lawsuits appears on Cold Bore’s SEC disclosures. The firm is registered as an Exempt Reporting Adviser under CRD No. 307725, and its April 2025 Form ADV reports no customer complaints, arbitrations, regulatory actions, or civil or criminal proceedings against the firm.³ A related Cold Bore entity under CRD No. 307726 withdrew its Exempt Reporting Adviser status in March 2023 and has a similarly clean disclosure record.¹⁴ Private civil litigation of the kind described above generally is not required disclosure on Form ADV, so its absence there does not mean the cases don’t exist.

1
Justia. Saponaro v. CBCF II D, LLC et al
2
Private Equity International. Cold Bore Capital Management
3
SEC EDGAR. Cold Bore Capital Management LLC Form ADV
4
Stretto. Wank Limited Response in Optio Rx Bankruptcy
5
PACER Monitor. Wank v. Optio Rx, LLC et al
6
Bloomberg Law. Compounding Pharmacy Optio Rx Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
7
Stretto. Optio Rx Disclosure Statement
8
Stretto. Aves Management Notice of Statement of Claim
9
Stretto. Debtors Motion to Enforce Automatic Stay
10
Stretto. Patel Response to Motion to Enforce Automatic Stay
11
Leagle. Patel v. CBC Pharma HoldCo LLC et al
12
PACER Monitor. Wartak v. CBC Operations Group, LLC et al
13
PACER Monitor. Saponaro v. CBCF II D, LLC et al Order
14
SEC IAPD. Cold Bore Capital Firm Summary