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EB-5 More Dangerous Than Refugees, More Fraudulent Than Welfare

An eager reader shares an editorial from the Los Angeles Times on the EB-5 visa investment program, on which our Congressional delegation needs to figure out its position by December 11, when the current green-cards-for-sale program will expire. I’ve already offered Senator Mike Rounds, Senator John Thune, and Representative Kristi Noem reasonable ways to reform the EB-5 program. But if crafting better practical policy hurts their heads too much, how about I offer them two solid GOP-consistent reasons to simply kill EB-5?

If EB-5 investors were Syrian refugees, Rounds, Thune, and Noem would be screaming to cut them off: the L.A. Times editorial reports that the initial approval of EB-5 visas takes only six months, rather than 18 to 24 months that Rounds, Thune, and Noem all think is insufficient to protect us from infiltrators.

If EB-5 were welfare, they’d be shouting Fraud! and calling for repeal. The L.A. Times says that as of last May, the feds were investigating 59 cases of fraud involving EB-5 Regional Centers. Given that there are 697 Regional Centers (696 if USCIS has its way and takes away South Dakota’s Regional Center designation), that could be a fraud rate of over 8%, That’s higher than reasonable estimates of fraud rates (not error rates, but outright attempts to rip off taxpayers) in food stamps, Medicare, and Medicaid, and Republicans cite fraud as reason to throttle those programs.

The editorial concludes that growth in EB-5 regional centers and investors belies serious problems in the program:

…the results have been mixed. That’s largely because the government fails to track investments and their impact on communities, its regulations make it too easy to game the system, and the poorly conceived structure of the regional centers lets investors withdraw their money in two years, once they’ve received their Lawful Permanent Resident status [editorial, “For Sale: U.S. Citizenship, $500,000 to $1 Million,” Los Angeles Times, 2015.11.29].

Don’t expect our Republican Congressional delegation to say much one way or the other about EB-5. The less press they make about EB-5, the better for Senator Rounds, who now faces a resurgent EB-5 scandal that has his Pierre guys Dennis Daugaard and Marty Jackley fighting his EB-5 guys Joop Bollen and Jeff Sveen. Senator Rounds might be so eager for silence on the issue that he might arrange for Thune, Noem, and himself to be out of the office when Congress brings EB-5 to a vote.

If Rounds, Thune, and Noem were doing their jobs, they’d respond to the obvious shortcomings of EB-5, demonstrated right here in South Dakota, by proposing reforms or calling for cancellation of the program. Alas, their political concerns appear to be preventing them from seeing their way toward such sensible legislating.

82 Comments

  1. Lanny V Stricherz 2015-11-29 21:30

    I would like for you to review the rules on EB-5 Cory. Correct me if I am wrong on these two items. The 500k is to provide employment for 10 new jobs. Those jobs are to be for US Americans. The majority of the CAFO dairy operation jobs were/are filled by undocumented workers and the state of South Dakota has essentially looked the other way on that issue.

    Is there any information of undocumented workers on any of the other EB-5 programs such as the failed Beef plant in Aberdeen. And by the way I heard a couple of weeks ago that the Aberdeen Beef plant is getting ready to reopen. Is that correct? Thanks.

  2. moses 2015-11-29 21:49

    Lanny good post its ever hard to disagree with you.How come you never post on photo op.

  3. Lanny V Stricherz 2015-11-29 22:02

    Thanks moses I guess mainly because I have more disgust for Rounds and Daugaard than I do for photo op.

  4. Jenny 2015-11-30 06:30

    Good to see you on here, Lanny. Don’t go away, this blog needs you, you’re one of the sane ones.

  5. Lynn 2015-11-30 06:56

    Lanny,

    I’ve read where the beef plant up in Aberdeen is starting out very slow on the production line with the hopes of gradually increasing. Evidently some of the employees for example came from the Molded Fiber Glass Plant making wind turbines blades across town and when interviewed the condition was that they start the next day at the beef plant which really put other employers in the region such as Molded Fiber Glass in a bind without giving proper notice. Not a very good practice or example in my opinion. Then your gambling with the troubled past history of the Beef plant and employment security.

  6. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-11-30 07:25

    Good questions, Lanny. EB-5 rules require that the jobs go to “qualifying U.S. workers,” meaning “a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or other immigrant authorized to work in the United States. The individual may be a conditional resident, an asylee, a refugee, or a person residing in the United States under suspension of deportation. This definition does not include the immigrant investor; his or her spouse, sons, or daughters; or any foreign national in any nonimmigrant status (such as an H-1B visa holder) or who is not authorized to work in the United States.” The jobs only have to last for two years, so really, the early EB-5 investors in NBP prior to 2011 got their green cards before NBP processed any beef; they simply created construction jobs.

    And remember, those ten jobs don’t even have to be real jobs. At Northern Beef Packers, for example, the “10 jobs” would have included maybe two or three actual people working at the plant who would then be mathematically extrapolated to include seven or eight people around town who would be selling coffee or bagging groceries or giving dance lessons in “new” “indirect” jobs “created” by those couple-three jobs at NBP.

  7. Rorschach 2015-11-30 07:53

    59 cases of fraud involving Regional Centers. I wouldn’t be surprised if more than 1 of those cases of fraud are from our regional center. It wouldn’t surprise me if 10 or 15 of those cases were from our regional center. The LA Times can interview someone right there in LA involved with Mike Rounds and his brother’s EB-5 shell game financial shenanigans.

  8. Lanny V Stricherz 2015-11-30 08:09

    Thank you Jenny, I don’t know where that came from, but I am humbled.

  9. Sam Agarwal 2015-11-30 08:56

    This EB-5 Program is a wide open ticket to FRAUD. Within the last couple months the SEC and FBI have raided EB-5 offices and frozen assets of numerous EB-5 companies.

    Lobsang Dargey and Path America EB-5 Regional Center was charged with using investor money to purchase a $2.5 Million home for himself, a luxury Bentley automobile and hundreds of thousands of investor withdrawn by him at casinos. $123 MILLION!

    Lily Zhong and her company EB-5 Asset Manager LLC alledgedly used investor money to purchase a luxury yacht, multiple vehicles and other personal extravagances.

    Robert Yang, MD, of Redlands, Calif., and Claudia Kano of nearby Pomona are accused of misappropriating investor funds to pay for other unrelated projects.

    These are MULT-IMILLION DOLLAR FRAUDS and the USCIS is the organization charged with oversight, yet this government organization has stated publically that they lack the ability to oversee or have any enforcement authority over EB-5 Regional Centers.

    Somehow 56 or so of the Regional Centers have now been reported as being under SEC investigation. It seems that the “Bad Guys” heard clearly that there was a way to recruit investor money that had no oversight! They seem to have promised investors that the funds would be used for specific projects then they use the money as if it were their own piggy bank so that they can live lavish lifestyles.

  10. Jenny 2015-11-30 11:32

    Lanny, Cory’s blog is getting ruined by several unhappy dysfunctional white guys that live here. You get the gist…..

  11. Jenny 2015-11-30 11:35

    Sorry, didn’t mean to put ‘white’ guys in there. I’m still creeping out over Sutton’s racist FB rants.

  12. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-11-30 13:20

    (Understood, Jenny—stuff like that leaves bad taste in one’s mouth that takes a while to wash out.)

    Sam, thanks for those examples. Have any of those fraudulent uses resulted in EB-5 investors losing their green cards or suing to get their money back?

  13. Lynn 2015-11-30 14:11

    I wonder who those “several unhappy dysfunctional guys that live here” are?

  14. larry kurtz 2015-11-30 14:17

    Deutsch, Schoenbeck, Troy and Charlie Hoffman popped into my mind immediately.

  15. Whither 2015-11-30 14:23

    EB-5 news is breaking out all over, even during a holiday with super-busy news cycles.

    http://bit.ly/1NEabpB

  16. Lynn 2015-11-30 14:24

    “Cory’s blog is getting ruined by several unhappy dysfunctional guys that live here.”

    Commenting morning, day and night. Who could they be…………?

  17. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-11-30 14:33

    Whoever they are, they are not as discussion-worthy as the EB-5 news Whither shares with us. Keep an eye on the ball—EB-5 is going to keep bouncing against Mike Rounds’s wall.

  18. Lynn 2015-11-30 14:39

    Cory,

    They continue to degrade and distract from multiple threads and have been pointed out by Jenny and Happy Camper. They just continue their behavior? Ban me for bringing it up?

  19. jerry 2015-11-30 14:41

    Couldn’t be me Lynn, keep looking though.

  20. Lynn 2015-11-30 14:46

    Jenny 2015-11-29 at 19:13
    I wouldn’t even bother with larry and his brother jerry, Lynn. And now Bearcreekbat is starting to be rude. They’re not worth your time when their dysfunctionalism starts up. Larry is the worst and needs help the most, but would be much to arrogant to ever get it.

    I do agree with much of what you mentioned about the SDDP. Frankly, I really do think that the better educated SD Dems that could have made things happen have all left the state for greener pastures, and I don’t blame them!
    What I’ve been saying all along is Minnehaha county is where the immigrant minorities are and they would love to be invited to a Dem meeting, educated on voter registration. You’d be surprised how many of them are interested and excited to be able to vote for the first time in America.

  21. Lynn 2015-11-30 14:48

    happy camper 2015-11-29 at 19:43
    Kurtz is a blog terrorist with too many sympathizers.

  22. jerry 2015-11-30 14:57

    Try the mirror next.

  23. mike from iowa 2015-11-30 15:35

    https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/IN10233.pdf

    This is interesting. Appropriations for USCIS investigating fraud have been reduced and the agency gets by on fees collected by statute law. It also means less congressional oversight since taxpayer’s monies are reduced.

  24. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-11-30 15:38

    (Enough! EB-5 is infinitely more important than me or any commenter in this space. You want to talk about this blog instead of the news? Why not start your own blog: DFPSux.com or some such thing, and devote your time to that effort. Or go wake Sibby up and write all the metablog comments you want, since that’s who you sound like when you drag every topic back to your hobbyhorses. Get together with Kathy Scott and Lee Stranahan and slag to your heart’s content. But don’t get in my way or in readers’ way of discussing the real issues at hand. I’ve said it several times before, and I’ll repeat it: I am not the story.)

    (I’m annoyed that I now have to moderate every thread this way. Lynn, Larry, you have aired your beefs. Your beefs do not contribute to our understanding of any issue I’ve written about this month. Resolve your beefs elsewhere. If you really believe certain people are ruining the conversation, then leave the conversation.)

  25. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-11-30 15:43

    Mike, that’s another good example of how Republican anti-governance leads to worse outcomes. The GOP pretends it is showing good fiscal conservatism; instead, it leaves programs in place with insufficient oversight, leaving them ripe for greater corruption. Elect Senators like Mike Rounds who don’t believe in government, and you get a mess.

  26. Lanny V Stricherz 2015-11-30 16:37

    Cory, I would say that it is a stretch to say that Mike Rounds does not believe in government. He just does not believe in the parts that he does not like, such as the EPA, medicare, medicaid, social security and education. He must believe in it though to have expanded state government by several hundred employees in just 8 years at a time when the economy was in the tank, because of the federal tax cuts and fighting two wars.

    And of course he loved sending the Guard to active duty at the behest of the President, because then he could make such a show of how much he supported the troops and respected veterans, when that was the farthest thing from the truth. I can still see him honoring the Troops and Veterans in his SOS speech each session, but then when Clarence Kooistra and Maggie Gillespie along with Roger Andal tried to pass a bill to have all the troops who served since the 1991 Gulf war and the Kosovo wars and those returning while he was governor, tested for depleted uranium poisoning and it passed both houses, but he got the house to hog house the bill and gut it so when it went to conference committee the Senate would not agree to the changes. That way he did not have to veto it and South Dakota didn’t have to embarrass the pentagon and make them stop using DU.

    And finally he must love government, otherwise how could he get his hands on the money to do the economic expansion projects for his buddies at our expense.

  27. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-11-30 16:45

    Fair enough, Lanny. Per your examples, I will amend my remark: Mike Rounds believes in government as a whipping boy for campaign slogans to help him get power in government, then as a tool for him to use to serve his selfish interests.

    Now he can’t figure out what recommendation to make for EB-5, because he doesn’t know if the program will still be around in South Dakota to help his friends get richer.

  28. leslie 2015-11-30 16:59

    rounds knows precisely how EB5 works (for years now) and had staff and access to info at his findger tips then, and now, in DC so he won’t make a move unless it is safe and lucrative for him, imo.

  29. Roger Cornelius 2015-11-30 17:02

    Cory,
    Thank you for your comments at 15:38, I have realized that in the past couple of weeks I have been commenting less and less mostly due to the constant distractions that are relevant to the topic discussion.
    The new readers to your blog must wonder what the hell kind of blog this it and not bother to comment for fear of being attacked.

  30. Lanny V Stricherz 2015-11-30 17:10

    I agree Rodger. At 8:09 this morning, I said that I was humbled by a compliment that I was given. By the time the afternoon had worn on, I was embarrassed. We cannot learn if everyone’s opinions are not freely shared.

  31. Lanny V Stricherz 2015-11-30 17:14

    Another issue with Mike Rounds and John Thune and some of those other Senators who claim they support the troops and the veterans. When are they going to submit a bill for mandatory funding for the VA? There are a quarter million veterans with mental health issues. Veterans are committing suicide at a rate of 23 per DAY. We don’t have enough mental health professionals in this country to deal with this issue. Do they support the troops, and veterans or is that just a political tool?

  32. larry kurtz 2015-11-30 17:21

    Stricherz for SDPUC.

  33. larry kurtz 2015-11-30 17:24

    i was looking at the lootery commission today and wondered why they aren’t elected: anyone? Marty?

  34. larry kurtz 2015-11-30 17:36

    sorry, cory: ethics commission? don’t be silly.

  35. larry kurtz 2015-11-30 17:46

    you miserable bastards.

  36. larry kurtz 2015-11-30 17:50

    who tipped off rich benda?

  37. Jenny 2015-11-30 17:56

    They are not opinions, Lanny. Kurtz should be banned on here, he’s a bully and contributes nothing to the discussion. Man, Sibby was far more tolerable, at least he stayed on topic.

    Well, I said it, Cory, been wanting to say it for months. Kurtz is a disgrace, ban me from here if you want.

  38. larry kurtz 2015-11-30 18:01

    cannabis.

  39. grudznick 2015-11-30 18:01

    In this day and age, in December of 2015, in our new ordered world with a global economy, the E-B5 program should be shut down nationwide until all the investors can be better vetted before they get their temporary green cards.

    Lar, I fear you have killed this blogging post.

  40. 96Tears 2015-11-30 18:03

    The link Whither provided earlier here indicates EB-5 is a huge magnet for crooks and that fraudulent activities are a relatively common experience across the USA. What makes South Dakota unique is the institutionalization of criminality at the highest levels of state government, including a state attorney general who so far is going out of his way to help the crooks escape justice.

    I saw a Washington Post article recently (wish I saved it) that said federal investigations are backlogged due to increased criminal activity and budget cutbacks. Knowing that a typical SEC investigation moves at a snail’s pace, it would not be surprising that the feds are only now catching up to South Dakota’s EB-5 fraud cases as well as those oozing out across the nation. The Center for Immigration Studies blog last summer had an interesting piece on similar fraud cases popping up across the nation:

    http://www.cis.org/north/there-something-about-eb-5-attracts-wastrels-and-crooks

    Perhaps the feds are learning from the many cases out there and that they are just getting their arms around how to nail the creeps.

  41. mike from iowa 2015-11-30 18:09

    My 2 cents worth. Kurtz was behaving with restraint when some female or other started making snide remarks on this post. Then another female started in on Kurtz. Kurtz has behaved rather well and that is my final word on this subject.

  42. Lynn 2015-11-30 18:10

    Jenny,

    Larry from New Mexico is Cory’s sidekick. His behavior is accepted and endorsed where he is banned elsewhere. It’s just the way it is.

    Cory you can ban me too. Let’s make it official. :)

  43. Lynn 2015-11-30 18:18

    Cory,

    “Good grief. Cannabis is the new Godwin’s Law for this blog: the first person to invoke cannabis on a post that has nothing to do with cannabis loses the argument and ends the thread. I’m really sick of it. Start your own darned pot blog.”

    larry kurtz 2015-11-30 at 18:01
    Cannabis

    Your not going to ban your sidekick. You two are intertwined.

  44. grudznick 2015-11-30 18:20

    Why must everything be about the demon weed? E-B5 has nothing to do with weed, which is bad for you. Very bad. Unless the people in Flandreau were going to use E-B5 to get workers for their weed shack that has burned down in the meantime.

  45. larry kurtz 2015-11-30 18:22

    santa claus
    sani flush
    drano.

  46. grudznick 2015-11-30 18:27

    Did you do a doobie today, Lar? Are you high right now?

  47. larry kurtz 2015-11-30 18:42

    who told rich benda a grand jury compelled marty to write an indictment?

  48. moses 2015-11-30 19:10

    Wheres porter lansing you are needed here.

  49. jake 2015-11-30 19:22

    Kurtz, you can be a royal? Pain-in-the-Ass with your distractions.. You probably relish attacks like this like you do a snort of the ole weed to know that you are noticed.
    Personally, I peruse this blog to learn something and be refreshed that there are intelligent people (far more intelligent than me) that impart here their good thoughts/ideas that one never gets in the main media. Be a part of the solution, Lar, not the prob!!

  50. jerry 2015-11-30 19:37

    Lanny, very good question on the full funding of the VA. One thing that the three congress critters will agree on is that Hot Springs must be kept open for those ptsd patients. Of course, what they will not say is how many millions of dollars it will take to bring the place up to standards as we certainly do not want another Walter Reed type situation. Obama has done a tremendous amount of good regarding us veterans and we should all thank him for that. The congress needs to do more with regards to setting a precedent and fully funding this program that grows each day. Funny how these things work, more war, more need for hospitals and centers for mental health.

  51. larry kurtz 2015-11-30 19:44

    south dakota politics never ceases to be a tutorial on how to drive a bridge piling with a tack hammer.

  52. jerry 2015-11-30 19:51

    Sam Agarwal posted a very interesting post on the fact that the FBI and the SEC have been raiding offices for informtion on crooked EB-5 deals. Now as your posts have shown Cory, Joop was operating as a banker without a liecence that would seem to me cause to bring in the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate him and his dealings. He also brings in this

    “Lobsang Dargey and Path America EB-5 Regional Center was charged with using investor money to purchase a $2.5 Million home for himself, a luxury Bentley automobile and hundreds of thousands of investor withdrawn by him at casinos. $123 MILLION

    I think this is the kind of money that Kathy Tyler brought into the picture as well. The pieces all fit together nicely. It is a shame that we do not have a United States Attorney here in South Dakota or at least an office here to address these issues. I wonder if Obama knows the situation here in South Dakota?

  53. 90 Schilling 2015-11-30 20:01

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lV9d4GieAmc

    A review of Duffy’s presser on EB5 as hired gun for the Democrats. Weak in some areas and scary in others. BTW what did Patrick expire from?

  54. happy camper 2015-11-30 20:03

    Larry reminds me of Gore Vidal. He likes to push buttons.

    The thing about corruption in our state, we’re such small potatoes. Important to us yes, but so minor in the scope of the national scene.

  55. grudznick 2015-11-30 20:42

    Mr. Duffy expired from having to exert too much personal effort toward his libbie causes, as there were few who could match his lift or were willing to even try. Hence, the Democrat Party sinks even faster without his wise spirit guiding the struggle back.

  56. Spike 2015-11-30 21:14

    Mr. Grudznick,

    I compliment and humbly admire your view of Pat. For he probably gave his life to what he believed in. And don’t doubt that I DO respect your opinions. And I agree with you about SDDP. Mr Duffy committed 1000’s of hours to EB-5. And all he really wanted was Good ol South Dakota to be the best place to live and love in the world.

    Peace to all

  57. grudznick 2015-11-30 21:18

    Mr. Spike, I appreciate your comments. Peace to Mr. Duffy.

  58. jerry 2015-11-30 21:19

    The good news though Mr. grudznick is that the problems that South Dakota faces are not brought on by “tax and spend” Democrats. You fellers own it the tax and spend and steal that is making South Dakota the outlaw state it is. But, you do not see any problems with it, so it must be cool beans.

  59. grudznick 2015-11-30 21:22

    One jerry’s opinion is worth the paper it is written on. I’m just sayin…

  60. Whither 2015-11-30 21:26

    Duffy left us due to an abdominal aortic aneurysm — a Triple-A, as the medical professionals call it. Fewer than 5% survive, and most of those survivors suffer their Triple-As in a hospital.
    May he rest in peace.

  61. jerry 2015-11-30 21:38

    I just call them the way they are Mr. grudznick, sorry that it is the truth. As long as you keep blaming Democrats for the way republicans steal, then I would say it pretty much stays the same.

  62. Spike 2015-11-30 22:14

    Whither….

    Thank you for the medical terminology. I did not know. I just knew the loss.
    I believe Pat left us because it was his time. We are not part of the universe, we are the universe and he remains with us. Vote and help someone in need.

  63. Whither 2015-11-30 22:25

    Pat Duffy was a force that perhaps even death cannot contain. And he was mad as hell about EB-5 in South Dakota. (Trying to stay on topic, Cory!)

  64. grudznick 2015-11-30 22:25

    Mr. jerry, I blame the Democrats for causing the one-party system many of you whine about. There is no doubt it is the Democrats fault, for had they not failed so tragically then you could not make that whine. But alas…the SDDP is dying if not dead already. This is why my friend Lar gnashes and hate is all that’s left of him. He yearns for the days of yore, when Kneip ruled and fought for liberties and smaller government. Funny, huh? That’s what the Republicans fight for today and it really pisses Lar off.

  65. Whither 2015-11-30 22:30

    Redistricting, aka gerrymandering, dealt several blows to any hope of a two-party system. Is Huron still split right down the middle? Is there still a district line drawn over a hill in Rapid City just to encircle Alan Hanks’ house? Is there any plausible explanation why Rapid City doesn’t send a Native American to the Legislature out of North Rapid? What’s Brown County looking like these days? Oh I could go on, but I’m pretty sure the Democrats did not draw those lines.
    District lines for Legislatures and for Congress must be drawn by academics or disinterested third parties if our democracy is to have any hope of legitimacy. Worst SCOTUS ruling ever, perhaps.

  66. jerry 2015-11-30 22:35

    Mr. grudznick, your explanation of blaming Democrats for the failures of republicans is very typical of blaming the victim, republicans favorite punching bag. You must be commended for your candor.

  67. Roger Cornelius 2015-11-30 23:07

    Money. Money is what has kept this state a one party state, that and Whither’s explanation of gerrymandering.
    For nearly four decades the federal and state money machines have kept republicans in office, whether directly or indirectly.
    Crony capitalism corruption is just that and the way it works is obvious if you follow the money. The governor appoints friends and relatives to lucrative state jobs, hands out no-bid contracts to his pals like they are candy, and when it comes to campaign time, who are the donors to his re-election.
    No grudz, it is not the Democrats fault this state is one of the most corrupt in the nation, it is your fault grudz. Each and every election when you vote the party ticket, you endorse and condone corruption and figure a way to blame anybody but republicans for their filthy habit of stealing from state tax payers.

  68. mike from iowa 2015-12-01 06:18

    South Dakota stinks of wingnut corruption and it has perverted western iowa with ungodly dingbats who claim to be kristian. Used to have a decent Dem named Berkley Bedell as my congressman,then the right wing machine took over and gave us the likes of Yeoman Purser Gopher Smith of the “Love Boat” and this dumber than a truckload of dirt “Cantaloupe Calves” King. iowa’s freshman sinator is every bit as goofy and as stoopid as her wingnut cohorts. KGB Barbie-Ivanna Kuturnutzov.

  69. happy camper 2015-12-01 07:25

    People are corrupt. All of us. The gerrymandering is terribly wrong and undemocratic, but let’s remember we were supposed to be a Republic. If Hamilton and Jefferson saw these huge programs… Jefferson didn’t even want a central bank. Buy residency? Like being in a dysfunctional family we grow up with this stuff and it may seem normal, but the government has expanded to places way beyond its constitutional boundaries. And that Dakota War College wishes another good year for Republicans. Like he wishes a bad year for Democrats? I used to enjoy Larry’s posts there and the crazy angry reactions, but eventually I looked in the mirror and realized a 6th grader was staring back, and that it’s very unproductive. Us versus them. Never look for common ground. Always be a winner and loser in that game yet we’re all Americans. Politicians are supposed to unify which is just impossible these days. Like old old kids on the playground.

  70. 90 Schilling 2015-12-01 07:57

    Nice post to start my day, hc.

  71. larry kurtz 2015-12-01 08:15

    According to the 100 Eyes hosts there is more EB-5 news coming.

  72. jerry 2015-12-01 08:31

    politics is a contact sport. Doesn’t matter what party you claim to affiliate yourself with, it can be cutthroat. What makes it tolerable is when there is a balance. When there is one party dominance, you get corruption at a grand scale. All one has to do is look around, not to hard to see. From the granting of building permits to the purchase of a governor and his his underlings, you can see it plain and true. The issue in South Dakota is not so much the corruption is it is the fact that it is done without recourse. The republican party in South Dakota proves without a doubt that crime really does pay.

    Speaking of Jefferson, he knew this well that the only way to democracy is balance. He distanced himself between church and state as he knew perfectly well that the two do not and will not ever balance. He was particularly sensitive to that as the state religion in the colonies in America was the Church of England. If you think you are a 6th grader in the fight, you are giving yourself way to much credit as it is more 3rd grade to me. Larry does as Larry does, he pokes the stick in the cage of the tiger to make it piss and moan. He understands the game and he understands that it is not for everyone. He does make the point of showing those in power that their mask has been taken from them and they are exposed for what they are doing to us all.

  73. Sam Agarwal 2015-12-01 10:08

    The question was asked about the EB-5 Investors and whether they have lost the ability to get their green cards, whether they lost their money and whether any have sued Path America or Lobsang Dargey.

    1) The companies have been stripped from Lobsang Dargey and assigned to a receiver who may liquidate things if he feels it is the best way to protect investors.

    2) While a few lucky investors (approx 20 of 250) were able to get their $500,000 back because it had not yet been released from escrow, the majority had approved the release of $400,000 of the $500,000 at a very early stage (with completed I-526 application)

    3) One such investor (invested in 2014, had $400,000 released from escrow) tried to get the court to return his $500,000 investment plus about $60,000 – $80,000 in fees. SEC argues that the investor must later bring his own case against Mr Dargey or Path America and that the $500,000 plus fees cannot be returned to him without further harming others who are in the same position.

    4) Of note is that the investor in #3 claims to not be a rich Chinese investor who can weather the financial setback. This investor claims to have mortgaged his home and now faces losing his home, his money and his chance at a US VISA!!!

    5) The SEC has stated that at this time there are no employees of Path America. This may mean that ALL THE CHINESE LOSE THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO GET GREEN CARDS (as well as lose substantial sums of money).

  74. jerry 2015-12-01 10:33

    Sam Agarwal, it is starting to appear this is clear Chinese bashing with the losses being swept under the rug because after all, they are brown. This grift only works when there is the supposed government oversight to protect investors. Why is this program any different than investing in Wall Street? If these people have no recourse from an obvious scam, how do we know the SEC will protect our investments? Where is the US Attorney’s office in all of this? Thanks for the info.

  75. leslie 2015-12-01 11:05

    larry, i seem to remember when jackley decided to indict, likely out of courtesy because benda had been a cabinet member an assistant was likely told to call benda or his lawyer and let him know it was coming. no storm troopers banging down the door at 3 a.m. for a rounds cabinet member. bad form/bad press. that is how things are done for notable people. you didn’t see dick cheney hog tied and arrested after he shot a senator on a SD pheasant hunt on the evening news, cause you know he won’t run or pull a gun. professional courtesy. you know the joke about the shark and the lawyer.

  76. larry kurtz 2015-12-01 20:46

    thanks, leslie: selective enforcement means never having to say you’re sorry but taking yourself out in your brother in law’s shelter belt or shooting the family and torching the house beats the hell out of suicide by cop any day.

    Happy Holidays!

  77. jerry 2015-12-01 21:05

    The Postal Service may have to get involved here with the EB5 as they did in this half billion dollar medical scam. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/five-individuals-including-two-doctors-charged-kickback-schemes-involving-nearly-600-million

    Here is an interesting quote ““We are committed to preserving Postal Service resources by vigorously investigating allegations of fraud and corruption,” said Special Agent in Charge Tom Frost of the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG). “We are grateful for the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our State and Federal partners in this investigation.”

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