The Daugaard Administration caught a break from USCIS last week. In a decision issued on March 15, the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office withdrew an earlier decision to revoke South Dakota’s EB-5 Regional Center status. We aren’t in the clear; USCIS simply says it needs further proceedings to determine whether the feds can trust South Dakota to run the EB-5 visa investment program honestly and effectively.
As Seth Tupper notes, the USCIS decision recognizes that the government must weigh both the financial shenanigans that took place in the Rounds/Bollen/Benda EB-5 program and the economic good the program did for South Dakota. On the positive side, USCIS cites the “thousands” of jobs created by EB-5 in South Dakota.
I remind all interested parties that “thousands” may exaggerate the case. Bob Mercer found candidate Mike Rounds’s 2014 claim of over 5,000 EB-5 jobs unsupported by evidence. Hundreds, maybe, but thousands… that requires some magic math.
USCIS gives no timeline for further review of South Dakota’s EB-5 status. Stay tuned.
Review a disaster, huge investment gone bad, much coverups, conflict of interest in handling investment money, sold real cheap so someone else can succeed with no regard for investors money, murder or suicide involved, huge profits by those bringing in investments with huge loses by investors. If this review says, ‘go ahead, do it again.’ Then the wrong people are doing the review. But then the wrong people did it the first time and they should be removed as well. That term, ‘moving forward’ is used by professionals who do not want to look at their past mistakes or be responsible for them.
Well—I see no reason for a reprieve. EB-5s only west river project was the Deadwood Grand. The Deadwood Grand cost 55 million to build. Chinese investors put up 35-40 million in bonds for the project. Last spring when the first bond payment came due the owner’s attorneys declared that they did not have to pay the bondholders. Several months ago the owners came to Deadwood with a Condo Scheme to raise money. It was rejected only because of a public outcry. The Deadwood City leaders said they hoped the group would return with a better proposal. No concern for the fleeced bondholders was ever expressed. Just the usual in Deadwood.