Ariel Quiros was indicted on a litany of Federal charges last year.
Saturday, July 11, 2020, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
Ariel Quiros and Bill Stenger with Senator Patrick Leahy and Governor Peter Shumlin
In a reversal of a stringent defense strategy, former Jay Peak owner Ariel Quiros is expected to plead guilty to Federal charges, the VTDigger reports.
Former Jay Peak and Burke owners Ariel Quiros and Bill Stenger were indicted on a litany of Federal charges including fraud and making false statements related to the AnC Bio Vermont component of the massive EB-5 scandal. The two had previously settled civil charges with the state and Federal government, in which they agreed to pay fines and surrender properties.
Quiros, Stenger, and former Jay Peak COO Bill Kelly pleaded not guilty last year. At the time, Quiros's former attorney alleged there was evidence showing the involvement of the "state’s congressional delegation, former employees and past governors" in the scandal. Quiros's former attorney withdrew from the case this spring, citing lack of payment, and was replaced by Neil Taylor.
Taylor told Judge Geoffrey Crawford that "We have been cooperating with the government and we anticipate disposing of his responsibility in this case by plea in the immediate future."
Stenger's court-appointed attorney Brooks McArthur was reportedly unaware of Quiros's change, but maintained that Stenger will "never plead to anything because he didn’t do anything wrong," according to VTDigger.
Background
Bill Stenger and Senator Bernie Sanders
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.
Senator Patrick Leahy and Bill Stenger
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 was 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.
