Ariel Quiros, the Miami resident and owner of Jay Peak who is accused of “misusing millions of dollars raised through investments solicited under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program,” has formally denied any wrongdoing in the complaint levied against him by the Securities and Exchange Commision.
Related: PBS Delves Inside The Jay Peak Fraud Scandal
In denying his part in the scam that amounted to roughly $200 million in improperly allocated investment dollars, Quiros is now asking that the court throw out the SEC’s accusation and instead reimburse the entire cost incurred by their complaint reports the Burlington Free Press. If they refuse to do that, Quiros has asked that the case go to trial, where an unbiased jury will rule on the matter. Quiros’ partner, William Stenger has since settled his case with the SEC.
“Since 2008, Quiros has misappropriated more than 50 million in investor money to, among other things: (1) finance his purchase of the Jay Peak resort; (2) back a personal line of credit to pay his income taxes; (3) purchase a luxury condominium; (4) pay taxes of a company he owns; and (5) buy an unrelated resort. He improperly used additional investor funds to pay down and pay off margin loans (including paying nearly $2.5 million in margin interest) he set up in the name of the Defendant companies at a brokerage firm” – SEC Complaint Filing
While the SEC’s allegations are purely civil at this point, a criminal investigation by the Vermont Attorney General concerning the “ponzi-like“ scheme is ongoing. In court filings, Quiros’ is accused of using $50 million of the $200 million in misused investment dollars to buy luxury condos in New York City and pay his own taxes.
Find the entire Burlington Free Press article here: Quiros denies SEC allegations, any knowledge of fraud