Simply Politics & News

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Ski resort owner reaches tentative deal in $200M fraud case
Nov 22, 2017

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — The owner of the Jay Peak ski resort has reached a tentative settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a $200 million fraud case involving people from across the world who hoped their investments in the resort and other projects would lead to permanent U.S. residency.

The tentative settlement between Florida businessman Ariel Quiros and the SEC was mentioned in federal court documents filed in Miami, The Burlington Free Press reported Wednesday. The documents do not provide details of the settlement, which must be approved by the commissioners of the SEC.

In the court documents, SEC attorney Robert Levenson asked for 90 days in which to seek approval of the deal from the commissioners of the SEC.

The commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, Michael Pieciak, said he couldn't discuss the details of the proposed settlement. But he said it would involve financial penalties and disgorgement, which relates to the return of illegal profits.

Quiros and business partner Bill Stenger were accused of misusing more than $200 million raised from foreign investors who were participating in the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program to build projects at Jay Peak, at Burke Mountain, and in Newport. Stenger settled his case with the SEC last year.

Quiros is believed to have pocketed more than $50 million, according to the SEC and civil complaints.

Federal prosecutors said in 2016 that a criminal investigation was underway, but no criminal charges have been filed. A number of civil lawsuits have been filed.

Quiros' attorney had said he was interested in resolving the case against him.

Pieciak said the SEC and the state were not focused on criminal charges, the realm of the U.S. attorney's office.

"Our main goal," Pieciak said, "is to hold the defendants accountable from a financial perspective."

Jay Peak, a four-season resort in northern Vermont near Canada, says it offers "the East's best skiing and snowboarding." It features a year-round indoor waterpark, an ice arena and championship golf course.
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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com

https://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2017/11/22/ski-resort-owner-reaches-tentative-deal-in-200m-fraud-case-n2413138?utm_source=thdailypm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_pm&newsletterad=

VT, feds allege 'massive' fraud at Jay Peak Inc.

MONTPELIER - The dream of spectacular economic development in the depressed Northeast Kingdom using money from foreign investors came crashing down Thursday amidst federal fraud allegations.

Gov. Peter Shumlin gathered with several of his top officials at the Statehouse to announce state and federal accusations of fraud against Bill Stenger and Ariel Quiros, partners in Jay Peak and Q Burke resorts and a variety of projects that set foreign investors on a path toward U.S. residency.

“We all feel betrayed,” Shumlin said. “It’s a dark day for Vermont.”

Under the federal EB-5 program, foreign nationals who invest $500,000 in a project in an economically struggling region of the country can receive residency if the project creates a specified number of jobs.

Stenger raised about $400 million for projects at Jay Peak and Q Burke ski resorts and in Newport from some 800 investors in countries from Brazil to South Africa to Vietnam.

Stenger and Quiros are accused in civil actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of perpetrating a "Ponzi-like" scheme in which they diverted money raised from the investors to a variety of shell companies and financial accounts — in the case of Quiros, for his personal benefit.

No charges have been filed, but a federal criminal investigation is underway.

Susan Donegan, the commissioner of Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, said 100 accounts at 10 financial institutions were involved in the scheme.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/vermont/2016/04/14/vermont-officials-burke-update/83008162/