SEC Reaches Partial Agreement with Quiros in Jay Peak EB-5 Case
Criminal charges have not been filed.
Tuesday, August 22, 2017, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
Ariel Quiros and the Securities and Exchange Commission have reached a partial agreement in the Jay Peak EB-5 case, VTDigger reports. The announcement comes nearly one year after former CEO Bill Stenger settled with the SEC.
Similar to Stenger's settlement, Quiros "does not admit or deny the SEC's allegations" and will be allegedly barred from future participation the EB-5 program. Despite last year's settlement, Stenger continued paid work at both Jay Peak and Burke, and recently filed a Vermont Act 250 project that involved EB-5 funds.
The SEC has not announced if or what amount Quiros will be penalized.
Criminal charges have not been filed against Stenger or Quiros.
Background
Stenger, a political science major at Syracuse University, started working at at Jay Peak in 1985 and in 2008 recruited Ariel Quiros to purchase the resort from Mont Saint Sauveur International. Following the acquisition, the group's EB-5 immigrant investor proposals expanded throughout the Northeast Kingdom with a planned price tag of $500 million. Meanwhile, Stenger and Quiros started a massive campaign of contributing to politicians, paying for their international junkets, and arranging press conferences and committee appearances to boost investor interest.
A Federal program created by Senator Ted Kennedy and championed by Senator Patrick Leahy, EB-5 allows immigrants to obtain a green card in exchange for investing $500,000 in a government endorsed business that creates ten jobs. In the case of the Jay Peak program, 20% to 25% of the investment was taken by developers and agents as fees.
The SEC took control of the properties on April 13, 2016, alleging that Quiros and Stenger were running a Ponzi scheme that was defrauding investors. The businesses were placed in receivership under Michael I. Goldberg, with Leisure Hotels and Resorts of Kansas City appointed to run the resorts.
A cornerstone of the SEC's lawsuit is the allegation that margin loans were taken out with EB-5 funds as collateral, a strategy that Quiros described in detail. Quiros and banker Joel Burstein both stated that Stenger participated in margin loan conversations.
The resorts remain under control of the government appointed receiver.