No Reason Given For Vermont EB-5 Director's Resignation

Public records shed little light on what was going on at the Agency of Commerce and Community Development before the director of its EB-5 program abruptly resigned July 20.

The agency released a set of records to the Burlington Free Press on Thursday and then to VTDigger on Friday showing communication between agency Secretary Patricia Moulton and Vermont EB-5 Regional Center Director Eugene Fullam.

Fullam’s resignation, sent at 4:29 p.m. on the day he quit, was two sentences: “Effective today I am formally resigning as Director of the Vermont Regional Center. I appreciate the opportunity to serve and wish you and team the best in future endeavors.”

The agency released an additional 192 pages of emails between Fullam and Moulton during the month of July. More than a dozen of those emails are redacted, and none gives a specific reason for Fullam’s resignation.

On July 19, Fullam, Moulton and Financial Regulation Commissioner Michael Pieciak received a short email from David Cassetty of the attorney general’s office. The email is redacted and marked as confidential attorney-client communication.

Earlier on July 19, Moulton, Fullam and other state officials registered for a July 28 conference call with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. According to records from that meeting, it referenced events at Jay Peak Resort and the federal agency’s plan to terminate regional centers that do not promote economic growth.

Also on July 19, Moulton and Fullam discussed a VTDigger article and whether they should seek a correction. Moulton told Fullam that she gave VTDigger limited information and did not want to ask for a correction because she would be asked to give more.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has been requesting information about the Vermont regional center, one of nearly 850 regional centers across the country that manage the EB-5 program, according to Moulton.

The federal agency terminated 61 regional centers since 2008, according to its website. Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 3, the federal agency terminated 23 regional centers, including centers in South Dakota, New York City and South Florida.

https://vtdigger.org/2016/08/26/no-reason-given-vermont-eb-5-directors-resignation/

Mentions

• Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development RC
• Vermont EB5 Regional Center
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

States

• Vermont