UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION vs Golden California Regional Center

Filing Date:November 04, 2019

Case:SEC vs Bethany Liou and Golden California Regional Center, LLC (collectively, “Respondents”)

Jurisdiction:Securities & Exchange Commission

Status:Resolved

Civil / Criminal:Civil

Securities Violations

The EB-5 program, created by the U.S. Congress in 1990, offers EB-5 visas to foreign individuals who invest $500,000 in a new enterprise located in a rural area or an area of high development. On November 4, 2019, the Commission issued a settled order (the "Order") instituting cease-and-desist proceedings against Bethany Liou ("Liou") and Golden California Regional Center, LLC (collectively, the "Respondents"). In the Order, the Commission found that, beginning in July 2016, the Respondents offered EB-5 securities in the form of limited partnership interests in the GCRC Cupertino Fund, LP (the "Cupertino Fund") and instead of providing those funds to the developer in accordance with the Cupertino Fund offering documents, Liou transferred the investor funds to accounts in Liou's name and then pledged investor funds as collateral for a line of credit. The Commission found that the Respondents violated Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 and ordered them to, jointly and severally, pay disgorgement of $49,306,893 and prejudgment interest of $988,339 to the Commission (the "Distribution Fund"), pursuant to a payment plan. According to the Order, the staff of the Commission will seek to distribute collections to the Cupertino Fund investors.