NEWPORT, Ariel Quiros, the former developer behind the failed AnC Vermont EB-5 project, was sentenced April 29 to 60 months in federal prison. He must also serve three years of supervised release and pay $8,338,600.77 in restitution.
Quiros pleaded guilty in August 2020 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and concealing material facts from a federal agency. The charges stemmed from a scheme that defrauded immigrant investors seeking green cards through the EB-5 program.
According to court records, the AnC Vermont project was supposed to raise $110 million from 220 investors to build a biotechnology facility in Newport. From 2012 to 2016, Quiros and co-defendants William Kelly, Jong Weon Choi, and William Stenger convinced about 169 investors to put in approximately $85 million, plus $8 million in administrative fees. The facility was never constructed.
Quiros admitted to misleading investors about how their money would be used, the timing of job creation, and Choi's involvement. He used investor funds for personal expenses, including a $6 million loan collateralized by investor money to pay his tax bill. He also helped hide from the Vermont Regional Center that Choi was under investigation in South Korea for financial crimes.
As part of his plea agreement, Quiros cooperated with prosecutors and could have faced up to 97 months. The government credited his cooperation. Co-defendants Stenger and Kelly were each sentenced to 18 months earlier in April. Choi remains at large.
Originally reported by Newport Dispatch.
Photo: Farragutful (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0). Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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