Many Chinese applicants have been misled by publicity and mistakenly believe that as long as they have money and projects, they can get a green card. However, they do not know that the most important thing for investment immigrants is to meet the various provisions of the relevant immigration laws. , in order to be approved for a green card, the second thing is to consider the return on investment. If you believe in the myth of return on investment, not only will you not be able to get a green card, you may even lose all your investment money. In fact, you will lose both your wife and your army. Among the many EB projects that have been hotly publicized in the country earlier, there are many cases of complete failure, such as the El Monte and Victory Valley Regional Centers that were mired in litigation and closed by the Immigration Bureau, and the Chicago Convention Center that was proven to be a "shocking scam." The project is believed to be enough to alert investors to choose carefully.

As this new year is approaching, Fayou editors have specially selected the most typical EB-5 cases that have been reported on this website in the past few years and compiled them into one article, with comments from Fayou lawyers. , for readers’ reference.

1. From a popular immigration project to a billion-dollar scam: the end of the Chicago Convention Center

A father and son who were running a hotel in Chicago were transformed by a Chinese immigration agency. It became a hotel management family with an ambition to raise US$250 million from China to build a conference center, attracting generous donations from 250 immigrant investors. In response to doubts from various parties, the project was claimed to be a rumor made by competitors. Two years later, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission actually accused it of fraud, and the investor’s immigration plan came to nothing; the process must be thought-provoking.

As the Chicago Convention Center scam was exposed, the SEC applied for a court order to freeze the $147,105,946.03 that Chicago Convention Center investors had transferred to the center’s two escrow accounts at SunTrust Bank since November 2011. Dollar. On April 19, 2013, federal trial judge Amy J. St. Eve of the Eastern District of Illinois signed a refund order requiring the custodian bank to refund investors.

Regarding the Chicago Convention Center project, Fayou.com raised strong doubts as early as December 2011 and has continued to follow up and report on it. According to the feedback received from readers, quite a few people have avoided falling into this huge scam, which is really unfortunate.

Click here to view the latest reports on the Chicago Convention Center case.

2. The El Monte Regional Center has been closed, and the original developer is still soliciting investors from China

On September 19, 2011, the U.S. Federal Immigration Service officially ordered the termination of operations in California. EB-5 Regional Center Eligibility for the City of El Monte. Since its establishment, the center has been exposed to numerous financial scandals and its management has fallen into chaos. The authorities believe that its current situation is no longer in line with the original intention of "providing employment opportunities and revitalizing the local economy." This is undoubtedly a catastrophic example of the failure of the EB-5 investment immigration project. Not long before the regional center was closed down, the original developer of the Transit Village in the regional center was still soliciting investment immigrants from China under the guise of the local government. Many innocent people may have been deceived. .

The Ai City Regional Center has been mired in litigation. The reason was that two executives of Dazhong Transit Village were arrested for corruption. The city government wanted to cut them off, but unexpectedly a lawsuit was triggered, and a Chinese real estate tycoon was involved in the process. The claim is US$18 million. At the same time, there are still Chinese websites claiming that the El Monte Regional Center “enjoys all-round government support” and “investors’ funds are highly protected,” thereby recruiting people interested in investing in EB-5 projects.

According to investigations, in the three years that the El Monte Regional Center has existed, only two overseas investors have actually invested capital in it, and one of them received a conditional green card. ); but after the center was closed, it was no longer possible for the investor to obtain a permanent green card for this project.

Looking back at the ins and outs of the Ai City Regional Center, readers can learn about a grand plan involving a US$1.2 billion reconstruction project, but its behind-the-scenes management is so chaotic; when choosing investment immigration projects in the future, Maybe we can be more cautious and less risky.

Click here to view the latest reports related to the El Monte Regional Center case.

3. The myth of EB-5 investment immigration was shattered: the Victory Valley Regional Center was finally closed after being advertised as a “government guarantee”

An EB-5 investment immigration was stopped in less than a year The project, however, attracted about 20 investors to spend nearly 10 million US dollars through attractive advertisements. Although the city government tried to reverse the defeat, the above-mentioned funds were inevitably wasted. The investors could neither get a green card nor recover their investment, and the Immigration Bureau made it clear that it would not interfere with refund matters... All of the above, It is nothing less than a nightmare for investment immigrants, but it actually happened in Victorville, California.

The Victory Valley Regional Center was approved to be established in July 2009. Since then, 19 investors have participated in the project, each paying US$500,000; the city government plans to use this money to Repaying restricted funds owed to a struggling wastewater treatment plant near a Southern California logistics airport. Unexpectedly, the USCIS terminated the investment immigration program in October 2010 on the grounds of "material factual discrepancies", which was the first time in the United States.

Although the city government subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Immigration Bureau, due to the financial difficulties it faced and the high legal fees required to sue the federal government, the city government was already "beyond its capabilities" and had to withdraw the lawsuit midway. This means that the nineteen investors in the project not only cannot get their money back, but their desire to get a green card is also in vain. At this time, they are completely desperate.

It has been a long time since the Victory Valley project was stopped by the federal government, but related fundraising advertisements can still be seen on the Internet, but the truth about this matter has rarely been reported in the press; we hereby remind all those who are interested in investing in immigration Choose your immigration agent carefully. It is best to hire a professional immigration lawyer to consult on investment immigration matters. Pay more attention to relevant reports from reliable American Chinese media such as Fayou.com and beware of being deceived.

Click here to view the latest reports on the Victory Valley Regional Center case.

4. The large-scale EB-5 project South Dakota Beef Processing Plant declared bankruptcy and it was difficult to recoup the investment, which sounded the alarm

In July 2013, a company in South Dakota The large-scale EB-5 investment immigration project Northern Beef Packaging Limited Partnership (NBP, hereinafter referred to as Northern Beef Plant) submitted a bankruptcy application to the court in accordance with Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Law due to business failure and heavy debts; and more than 160 foreign investors in the project It is difficult to recover the 80 million yuan of funds from people (most of whom are Chinese), and they have no chance of getting a green card because the project simply cannot meet the requirements of creating enough jobs for the United States.

According to relevant EB-5 regulations, each investor must create 10 jobs for the United States before he is eligible to receive a green card; based on the scale of the 160 investors in the Northern Beef Plant, the plant must be At least 1,600 jobs were created locally; but the actual situation is: due to insufficient funds, the factory laid off 108 employees in April 2013, leaving only 300 employees. At that time, the factory manager also expressed "confidence" After overcoming the difficulties, and now after filing for bankruptcy, the factory has only six employees left to supervise the bankruptcy process. It owes more than 100,000 US dollars in utility bills, and there are still more than 200 creditors whose debts have yet to be paid off.

It is worth noting that although promoters are unwilling to admit it, most EB-5 projects are inherently sub-optimal projects. Just think: if the project can raise funds through normal channels, why bother Fei Zhouzhang promoted to foreign investors through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security? If the project party just wants to raise funds from foreign countries, they can just recruit a translator to put out the advertisement. Why use "investment immigration" to attract attention? In fact, because the prospects of this type of project are not promising, no one is often willing to invest, so the project owner has to adopt the EB-5 route as the last option. This also explains why the risks of EB-5 investments are often greater than those of other types of investments.

Click here to view the latest reports on the South Dakota Regional Center case.

5. The Maryland State Government Center is plagued by lawsuits and overseas intermediaries still claim "zero risk" to attract money and harm people

In February 2012, the total value was US$1.5 billion, and it was planned to raise money from hundreds of investors. The $230 million EB-5 project, the Maryland State Center (State Center, Baltimore), has been mired in litigation several years after construction began, and the lawsuit is still unresolved; however, the regional center’s co-fundraisers are still advertising heavily overseas. Emphasizing that the project is "zero risk", you can invest with complete confidence.

The cause of the incident was that at the end of 2009, several commercial property owners near the State Government Center project filed a complaint with the court, claiming that the Maryland state government failed to comply with government procurement regulations during the project. In the process of selecting developers, It failed to make a public bid and also questioned the significance of building a state government center. The lawsuit pointed out that the new center will lead to the loss of a large number of government jobs, thus increasing the vacancy rate in Baltimore's downtown business district.

Baltimore City Comptroller Peter Franchot has announced the withdrawal of support for the EB-5 project, saying that the state government center project is risking taxpayers' money and may incur debt in the future and damage the state's financial situation. Local media in Maryland frequently use the word "controversial" to describe the state government center project and mention that the above issues have aroused public concern.

At the same time, DC Regional Center’s fundraising partners in Asia and other places are still promoting this project in a high-profile manner, with words such as “zero risk” and “government support” to attract investors without mentioning the true status of the project.

Click here to view the latest reports on the Maryland Government Center case.

6. The New Orleans Regional Center EB-5 project was accused of fraud, and many investors faced identity invalidation

In April 2012, 27 EB-5 visa project investors Two directors of the New Orleans Regional Center have filed a lawsuit demanding that the center provide immediate accounting reports on the whereabouts of their investments and a resolution to the plaintiffs’ U.S. residency issues; the suit says the center’s administrators Violation of fiduciary obligations, improper management, and misappropriation of large investments constitute fraud. As a result, investors will be unable to obtain green cards or face deportation.

The plaintiffs in this case are 27 investors in the New Orleans Regional Center, most of whom are Asian; the defendants are William Hungerford and Tim Milbrath, the directors of the center. The complaint alleges that the defendants’ illegal conduct includes gross mismanagement, breach of fiduciary duties, intentional interference with contracts, misappropriation of fund property and unjust enrichment.

The plaintiff pointed out in the complaint that the only purpose of the NobleReach-NOLA investment immigration project run by the two defendants was as a tool to commit fraud and transfer property for private use. In addition to serving the defendants’ illegal activities There is no other legitimate business except NobleOutReach Original Partners LLC created by the defendants is a complete fraud company; the two defendants not only concealed the true financial reports about the center and secretly appropriated the fund's property for themselves, but also deliberately Misleading misrepresentations were provided to give the plaintiff a false sense of the profitability of the projects operated by the fund.

Click here to view the latest reports on the New Orleans Regional Center case.

Seven to 18 investors sued the U.S. Immigration Service, claiming that their green cards worth tens of millions of dollars were in vain

From China, Malaysia, South Korea, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, India, Iran, and Canada Eighteen investors from the Netherlands and the United States took the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to court in September 2012, claiming that they still failed to obtain green cards after investing $11.5 million and creating jobs for nearly 300 Americans.

Eighteen investors formed a limited partnership to raise nearly $12 million to renovate an abandoned office and warehouse area in Riverside County, a project that at least afforded U.S. workers 278 jobs were created; and just when the plaintiff had attracted 23 investors and raised 11.5 million yuan, and when the plaintiff was preparing to invest 600,000 yuan in improvements and 2.4 million yuan in purchasing adjacent land, Homeland Security However, the Bureau suddenly rejected their formal green card application, making their immigration dream come to nothing.

The government rejected the plaintiff’s application because the project results did not meet the expected standards. It believed that the plaintiff’s partnership did not purchase the property or spend money to repair the property, and the corporate funds were deposited in a custodian account. The plaintiff’s assets It has not been used for operations, repairs, etc. The authorities have serious doubts as to whether all of the plaintiff's funds could actually be used to operate the business and generate profits. However, the plaintiff believes that the government’s reason for vetoing is not tenable. The real reason is simply the “lack of trust” between the two parties.

Click here to view the latest reports on the investor’s lawsuit against the Immigration Bureau.

8. The investment funds of the Texas Regional Center in financial difficulties may be "guaranteed" or the green card will be rejected

The EB-5 Regional Center in North Texas was granted the green card in October 2010. USCIS approved, and letters of support from Dallas city council members and the state Legislature were posted on its website. The company's brochure paints a rosy picture for foreign investors: investment funds will be managed by experienced professionals engaged in commercial real estate; there are millions of dollars in Farmers Branch. The project is expected to be completed within two years.

But the regional center is now in financial trouble. Armed Forces Bank sued Steven A. Shelley, one of the regional center's executives, and two company employees in federal court. Bank lawyers said the defendants set up a shell company, FRE Real Estate, Inc., in November and later filed for bankruptcy to escape unpaid debts.

Lawyer Fayou commented: Many investment immigration regional centers in the United States have a series of problems, including financial difficulties, false publicity, etc., and the ultimate victims of these problems are investors, who not only face the inability to collect money In the dilemma of returning, the green card application is also very likely to be unavailable.

Click here to view the latest reports on the Texas Regional Center bankruptcy case.

9. Suspicions about the Gulf Investment Fund EB-5 project: Only 1 of 91 investors received a green card. The immigration director himself is under investigation

On July 23, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that US Citizenship and Immigration Director Alejandro Mayorkas is facing an FBI investigation related to an EB-5 investment immigration project. According to the only official information, the authorities suspect that Mayorkas assisted a Chinese company executive to obtain EB. -5 investment immigration visa, and this investment project is managed by the brother of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; there is currently no detailed information about this matter, but the fact that the immigration director himself is under investigation and the involvement of Hillary’s brother in the case is enough to suggest the seriousness of the matter.

The EB-5 U.S. Regional Center "Gulf Coast Funds Management LLC" run by Hillary's brother Rodman*** raised US$45.5 million, but only 1 out of 91 investors People get green cards. The Securities and Exchange Commission has recently obtained the relevant investment documents of the regional center through the court, suspecting that the regional center misled investors by exaggerating returns.

Lawyer Fa Youyang pointed out: Due to the cultural and institutional differences between China and the United States, Chinese people are often willing to spend a lot of money to find "connections", thinking that if the "connections" are in place, everything can be solved. This case and countless others want to rely on it." Relationship: "The final result of Chinese people working in the United States is to end up in a mess and spend money to buy deportation.

Click here to view the latest reports on the Gulf Investment Fund case.

10. Eddy Zai, the owner of the EB-5 regional center, was convicted of felony bribery and fraud and sentenced to 87 months in prison

Cliff, Ohio, who once advertised extensively in China and made a lot of money A. Eddy Zai, president of the Lan EB-5 Regional Center, was formally indicted by a federal grand jury on February 10, 2012. He was charged with 37 counts of fraud, bribery, money laundering, and misrepresentation. He was sentenced in February 2013. 87 months in prison, plus five years of parole, and 23 million US dollars of assets in his name were ordered to be confiscated. Federal prosecutors described his crimes as "leading to one of the largest credit union collapses in history."

Prosecutors mentioned that Zai used The Cleveland Group LLC under his name and more than ten companies he controlled to commit fraud. Many of these companies had no legitimate business at all, but Zai Nothing more than a tool for fraud and loan transfer.

Before Eddy Zai was convicted, he had come to China many times to attend investment immigration project presentations and raised tens of millions of dollars for these projects, including EB-5 projects such as "Cleveland University Hospital". For publicity, a large number of Chinese advertisements for the above-mentioned investment projects can still be found on the Internet. Some officials mentioned that Zai was the criminal who defrauded a bank to obtain the largest single loan in the history of the United States. He now deserves a heavy sentence and the confiscation of his family property.

Comments from Lawyer Fayou: It is easy to see from this case that the managers of the EB-5 Investment Immigration Center are mixed, including some serious financial fraud criminals like Eddy Zai; investors should not be fooled by their boastful appearance. Be deceived and should be screened carefully to avoid losses.

Click here to view the latest reports on the case in which the head of the regional center received a severe sentence.

Have the above ten typical cases of EB-5 investment immigration inspired you? Lawyer Fayou combined many years of experience in EB-5 cases and summarized three tips: hire independent lawyers, avoid intermediaries, and do not trust guarantees. Hiring an experienced lawyer with extensive successful experience is the most critical guarantee for successful investment immigration. A good lawyer can not only prepare perfect application materials for you, but also screen the quality of the project for you, investigate the background of the project, and prevent immigration fraud. If your application fails and the investment money cannot be recovered, a good lawyer can help you recover the investment money and even obtain compensation.