In January 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed for an injunction freezing the assets of Emilio Francisco and his company, PDC Capital Group LLC. The SEC accused them of defrauding investors of $72 million of funds raised from them, and diverting the money to buy a yacht. Recent SEC suits also include SEC v. Luca International Group, LLC; SEC v. Path America, LLC; SEC v. EB5 Asset Manager, LLC; and SEC v. Robert Yang, et al.
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program is administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), and offers foreign investors an opportunity to secure permanent residency in the United States by making a capital investment in a commercial enterprise that will create or preserve at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers.
There are many EB-5 promoters who raise money for projects by soliciting foreign investors, often Chinese nationals. These investments are private securities transactions which are subject to the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws.
Often, these programs may be ripe for abuse by the promoters.
We are investigating fraud in these EB-5 programs. Any investor in an EB-5 program who believes that the program is a fraud or that misrepresentations were made about the project may be the victim of fraud. If you are an EB-5 investor who suspects fraud or misrepresentation has occurred by the project promoters, please contact our office for an evaluation.