(Source: Daily Business Review) A Fort Lauderdale attorney assigned to protect immigrant
investors in the Jay Peak ski resort fraud has distributed about $10 million,
with more likely to come since the resort's owner agreed not to fight the
allegations. Ariel Quiros agreed Aug. 22 not to challenge claims from the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that he misused $200 million in EB-5
investor funds meant for a Vermont ski resort and associated projects. Quiros
has agreed to a permanent injunction that will bar him from selling securities
or participating in the EB-5 program. The program, run by U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services, allows investors to obtain a visa by funding at least 10
full-time positions at a new commercial enterprise.
Quiros' agreement with the SEC does not include any
admission of wrongdoing, and the parties have yet to negotiate the amount of
any disgorgement or penalties. Michael Goldberg, a partner at Akerman who is the
court-appointed receiver for Jay Peak, had a busy summer after the financial
services company Raymond James Financial Inc. agreed to pay $150 million to
fraud victims. The agreement settled claims that Raymond James employees helped
Quiros and his business partner divert investor funds. The receivership has paid a $5.1 million trade debt in full
and distributed $2 million to contractors who were owed for work done on the
Stateside Hotel, Goldberg said Tuesday.
Investors in ANC Bio—a biomedical facility that won't be
completed—have received $500,000 each if they requested their funds be
returned, Goldberg said. The distributions total about $10 million so far.
Goldberg said his key focus now is to make sure the two
hotels that were part of the project create enough jobs to allow the investors
to secure green cards through the EB-5 program as intended. "This is an extremely important aspect of this case as
the immigration issues are just as important as the money to many
investors," Goldberg said in an email. Goldberg said he is also helping with efforts to amend EB-5
laws to benefit fraud victims. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, and U.S.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, have supported such changes. The $20 million Stateside project is set to finish
construction by the end of the year, Goldberg said. The project includes 60
cottages, a recreational center and lacrosse and soccer fields.
The only pending litigation in the case is the lawsuit
against Quiros, Goldberg said, but other companies are in talks to provide
funds to the receivership. "We have numerous tolling agreements in place and we
are speaking with several potential targets about a possible resolution of our
claims," he said. U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles of the Southern District
of Florida in Miami presides over the SEC case. Miami-based SEC attorneys
Christopher Martin and Robert Levenson represent the government agency, and
Quiros is represented by Melissa Visconti and Melanie Damian of Damian &
Valori in Miami.