UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION vs Jason Lee & Law Offices of Jason J. Lee & Associates, ALC

Filing Date:May 10, 2018

Case:SEC v. Jason J. Lee and Law Offices of Jason J. Lee & Associates

Jurisdiction:Securities & Exchange Commission

Status:Pending

Civil / Criminal:Civil

Fraud

Malpractice

Securities Violations

I. The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) deems it appropriate that ceaseand-desist proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant to 21C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), against Jason J. Lee and Law Offices of Jason J. Lee & Associates (“Respondents”).

II. In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, Respondents have submitted Offers of Settlement (the “Offers”) which the Commission has determined to accept. Solely for the purpose of these proceedings and any other proceedings brought by or on behalf of the Commission, or to which the Commission is a party, and without admitting or denying the findings herein, except as to the Commission’s jurisdiction over them and the subject matter of these proceedings, which are admitted, and except as provided herein in Section V, Respondents consent to the entry of this Order Instituting Cease-and-Desist Proceedings, Pursuant to Section 21C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions and a Cease-and-Desist Order (“Order”), as set forth below.

III. On the basis of this Order and Respondents’ Offers, the Commission finds1 that:

Summary

1. Respondents violated Section 15(a)(1) of the Exchange Act by acting as unregistered brokers in connection with their representation of clients who were seeking U.S. residency through the Immigrant Investor Program. Respondents, an immigration attorney and a law firm, recommended that their clients participate in the Immigrant Investor Program by investing in securities offered through an EB-5 Regional Center and helped effect the purchases. In addition to receiving legal fees from their clients, Respondents received a commission from the Regional Center for each investment they facilitated.

Respondents

2. Jason J. Lee, age 55, is a resident of Arcadia, California. He is a licensed attorney specializing in immigration. During the relevant time period, he was a partner of Law Offices of Jason J. Lee & Associates. 3. Law Offices of Jason J. Lee & Associates is a law firm located in Pasadena, California.

Background

4. The United States Congress created the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as “EB-5,” in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. The Program offers EB-5 visas to individuals who invest $1 million in a new commercial enterprise that creates or preserves at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers (or $500,000 in an enterprise located in a rural area or an area of high unemployment). A certain number of EB-5 visas are set aside for investors in approved Regional Centers. A Regional Center is defined as “any economic unit, public or private, which is involved with the promotion of economic growth, including increased export sales, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment.” 8 C.F.R. § 204.6(e) (2015). 5. Typical Regional Center investment vehicles are offered as limited partnership interests. The partnership interests are securities, usually offered pursuant to one or more exemptions from the registration requirements of the U.S. securities laws. The Regional Centers are often managed by a person or entity which acts as a general partner of the limited partnership. The Regional Centers, the investment vehicles, and the managers are collectively referred to herein as “EB-5 Investment Offerers.”

6. Various EB-5 Investment Offerers paid commissions to anyone who successfully sold limited partnership interests to new investors.