Defense attorneys Brooks McArthur and David Williams, on behalf of William Stenger, have asked the federal court to drop the $250,000 restitution order that is part of the EB-5 fraud case. New evidence shows that Vermont officials, former Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) Commissioner Susan Donegan and her then deputy, Vermont Treasurer Michael Pieciak, were aware of investment problems. Despite explicit warning from the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding a proposed bio-medical facility in Newport, they took no action. They even provided support for the project to move forward.
“The newly disclosed memos prove that when the DFR commissioner lifted a hold imposed on the marketing of the ANC Bio VT project in April 2015, high-ranking DFR officials were aware that the project was mired in fraud and that disclosures related to the project’s job projections and FDA approval of medical devices that were going to be manufactured at the project’s Newport facility were not reliable,” McArthur and Williams are quoted as saying in a VT Biz article on the topic.
Stenger pleaded guilty in August 2021 to a felony charge of making false statements regarding potential job creation at a biomedical facility intended for medical device manufacturing. As described by VT Digger, the development of the Vermont Regional Center was part of Stenger’s promotion of the Jay Peak Biomedical Research Park EB-5 investment project. The federal EB-5 program is designed to inject foreign investment into economically disadvantaged regions. In return, investors are provided with a path to citizenship.
Stenger was released from federal prison on March 22 to home confinement due to health considerations, having served approximately half his 18-month sentence. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont indicated that they would respond to Stenger’s motion later this month.
