NEWPORT, Ariel Quiros was sentenced April 29 to 60 months in federal prison for his role in the AnC Vermont EB-5 investment fraud. U.S. District Court also imposed three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $8,338,600.77 in restitution.
Quiros pleaded guilty in August 2020 to three felony counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and concealing material facts from a federal agency. From 2012 to 2016, he and co-defendants William Kelly, Jong Weon, and William Stenger solicited about $85 million from roughly 169 immigrant investors, plus $8 million in administrative fees, for a proposed biotechnology facility in Newport that was never built.
Court records show Quiros admitted using investor funds for personal purposes, including a $6 million IRS payment in early 2015 financed by a loan backed by investor money. He also acknowledged misleading investors about how funds would be used, job creation timelines, and the role of Choi, who was under investigation in Korea for financial crimes. Quiros agreed to cooperate with ongoing government matters.
Co-defendants Stenger and Kelly each received 18-month sentences earlier in April. Choi remains at large.
Originally reported by Newport Dispatch.
Photo: Pixabay via Pexels. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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