Investor Alert: Investment Scams Exploit Immigrant Investor Program

| April 30, 2015 | 0 Comments

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are jointly issuing this Investor Alert to warn individual investors about fraudulent investment scams that exploit the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as “EB-5.”

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) are aware of investment scams targeting foreign nationals who seek to become permanent lawful U.S. residents through the Immigrant Investor Program (“EB-5”).  In close coordination with USCIS, which administers the EB-5 program, the SEC has taken emergency enforcement action to stop allegedly fraudulent securities offerings made through EB-5.

The EB-5 program provides certain foreign investors who can demonstrate that their investments are creating jobs in this country, with a potential avenue to lawful permanent residency in the United States. Business owners apply to USCIS to be designated as “regional centers” for the EB-5 program.  These regional centers offer investment opportunities in “new commercial enterprises” that may involve securities offerings.  Through EB-5, a foreign investor who invests a certain amount of money that is placed at risk, and creates or preserves a minimum number of jobs in the United States, is eligible to apply for conditional lawful permanent residency.  Toward the end of the two-year period of conditional residency, the foreign investor is eligible to apply to have the conditions on their lawful permanent residency removed, if he or she can establish that the job creation requirements have been met.  Foreign investors who invest through EB-5, however, are not guaranteed a visa or to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. For more details, read the EB-5 Immigrant Investor section of USCIS’s website at www.uscis.gov.

The fact that a business is designated as a regional center by USCIS does not mean that USCIS, the SEC, or any other government agency has approved the investments offered by the business, or has otherwise expressed a view on the quality of the investment. The SEC and USCIS are aware of attempts to misuse the EB-5 program as a means to carry out fraudulent securities offerings. In a recent case, SEC v. Marco A. Ramirez, et al., the SEC and USCIS worked together to stop an alleged investment scam in which the SEC claims that the defendants, including the USA Now regional center, falsely promised investors a 5% return on their investment and an opportunity to obtain an EB-5 visa. The promoters allegedly started soliciting investors before USCIS had designated the business as a regional center. The SEC alleged that while the defendants told investors their money would be held in escrow until USCIS approved the business as eligible for EB-5, the defendants misused investor funds for personal use such as funding their Cajun-themed restaurant. According to the SEC’s complaint, the investors did not obtain even conditional visas as a result of their investments through the USA Now regional center.

In another case, SEC v. A Chicago Convention Center, et al., the SEC and USCIS coordinated to halt an alleged $156 million investment fraud. The SEC alleged that an individual and his companies used false and misleading information to solicit investors in the “World’s First Zero Carbon Emission Platinum LEED certified” hotel and conference center in Chicago, including falsely claiming that the business had acquired all necessary building permits and that the project was backed by several major hotel chains. According to the SEC’s complaint, the defendants promised investors that they would get back any administrative fees they paid for their investments if their EB-5 visa applications were denied.  The defendants allegedly spent more than 90 percent of the administrative fees, including some for personal use, before USCIS adjudicated the visa applications.

As with any investment, it is important to research thoroughly any offering that purports to be affiliated with EB-5. Take these steps:

  • Confirm that the regional center has been designated by USCIS. If you intend to invest through a regional center, check the list of current regional centers on USCIS’s website at www.uscis.gov. If the regional center is not on the list, exercise extreme caution. Even if it is on the list, understand that USCIS has not endorsed the regional center or any of the investments it offers.
  • Obtain copies of documents provided to USCIS. Regional centers must file an initial application (Form I-924) to obtain USCIS approval and designation, and must submit an information collection supplement (Form I-924A) at the end of every calendar year. Ask the regional center for copies of these forms and supporting documentation provided to USCIS.
  • Request investment information in writing. Ask for a copy of the investment offering memorandum or private placement memorandum from the issuer.  Examine it carefully and research similar projects in evaluating the proposal. Follow up with any questions you may have. If you do not understand the information in the document or the issuer is unwilling or unable to answer your questions to your satisfaction, do not invest.
  • Ask if promoters are being paid. If there are supposedly unaffiliated consultants, lawyers, or agencies recommending or endorsing the investment, ask how much money or what type of benefits they expect to receive in connection with recommending the investment. Be skeptical of information from promoters that is inconsistent with the investment offering memorandum or private placement memorandum from the issuer.
  • Seek independent verification. Confirm whether claims made about the investment are true.  For example, if the investment involves construction of commercial real estate, check county records to see if the issuer has obtained the proper permits and whether state and local property tax assessments correspond with the values the regional center attributes to the property. If other companies have purportedly signed onto the project, go directly to those companies for confirmation.
  • Examine structural risk. Understand that you may be investing in a new commercial enterprise that has no assets and has been established to loan funds to a company that will use the funds to develop projects. Carefully examine loan documents and offering statements to determine if the loan is secured by any collateral pledged to investors.
  • Consider the developer’s incentives. EB-5 regional center principals and developers often make capital investments in the projects they manage.  Recognize that if principals and developers do not make an equity investment in the project, their financial incentives may not be linked to the success of the project.
  • Look for warning signs of fraud. Beware if you spot any of these hallmarks of fraud:
    • Promises of a visa or becoming a lawful permanent resident. Investing through EB-5 makes you eligible to apply for a conditional visa, but there is no guarantee that USCIS will grant you a conditional visa or subsequently remove the conditions on your lawful permanent residency. USCIS carefully reviews each case and denies cases where eligibility rules are not met. Guarantees of the receipt or timing of a visa or green card are warning signs of fraud.
    • Guaranteed investment returns or no investment risk. Money invested through EB-5 must be at risk for the purpose of generating a return. If you are guaranteed investment returns or told you will get back a portion of the money you invested, be suspicious.
    • Overly consistent high investment returns. Investments tend to go up and down over time, particularly those that offer high returns.  Be suspicious of an investment that claims to provide, or continues to generate, high rates of return regardless of overall market conditions.
    • Unregistered investments.  Even though a regional center may be designated as a regional center by USCIS, most new commercial enterprise investment opportunities offered through regional centers are not registered with the SEC or any state regulator.  When an offering is unregistered, the issuer may not provide investors with access to key information about the company’s management, products, services, and finances that registration requires. In such circumstances, investors should obtain additional information about the company to help ensure that the investment opportunity is bona fide.
    • Unlicensed sellers. Federal and state securities laws require investment professionals and their firms who offer and sell investments to be licensed or registered.  Designation as a regional center does not satisfy this requirement.  Many fraudulent investment schemes involve unlicensed individuals or unregistered firms.
    • Layers of companies run by the same individuals. Some EB-5 regional center investments are structured through layers of different companies that are managed by the same individuals. In such circumstances, confirm that conflicts of interest have been fully disclosed and are minimized.

If your investment through EB-5 turns out to be in a fraudulent securities offering, you may lose both your money and your path to lawful permanent residency in the United States. Carefully vet any EB-5 offering before investing your money and your hope of becoming a lawful permanent resident of the United States.

USCIS and the SEC have in recent years built a strong partnership with an emphasis on fostering EB-5 program integrity. The two agencies coordinate on issues at the case-specific and programmatic levels, and have participated in joint public engagement events to raise awareness among EB-5 developers and investors as to these issues. This Investor Alert is another example of our coordinated efforts regarding EB-5 program integrity.

Additional Resources

To report a possible securities fraud, ask a question, or report a problem concerning your investments, your investment account, or a financial professional, please visithttp://www.sec.gov/complaint/select.shtml.

To receive the latest Investor Alerts and Bulletins from the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, sign up for our RSS feed at sec.gov/rss/investor/alertsandbulletins.xml or foremail at sec.gov/news/press/subscribe_updates.htm. You can also follow us on Twitter @SEC_Investor_Ed, or visit Investor.gov, the SEC’s website dedicated to individual investors.

(Investor Alert: Investment Scams Exploit Immigrant Investor Program

http://www.sec.gov/investor/alerts/ia_immigrant.htm)

 

 

 

译文：

投資者警告-利用移民投資項目的投資騙局

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy 和 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 共同發佈本次投資警告，告誡個人投資者警惕那些利 用移民投資項目，亦即『EB-5』，進行的欺詐性投資騙局。

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy 和 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) 知悉一些投資騙局是針對那些想 通過移民投資項目（EB-5）尋求成為永久的、合法的美國居民的外國國民。與管理 EB-5 項目的 USCIS 緊密協作，SEC 採取緊急強制措施，叫停涉嫌通過 EB-5 進行欺詐的證券發行專案。

EB-5 項目為能夠證明其投資可以為美國創造工作崗位的特定外國投資者，提供了在美國獲得合法永久居留 權的一種可能途徑。公司所有者向 USCIS 申請成為 EB-5 項目的指定『區域中心』。這些『區域中心』提 供在可能涉及證券發行的『新工商企業』中投資的機會。通過 EB-5 項目，外國投資者在美國投資了一定 的具有風險的資金，並創造或保留了最低數量的就業機會，就有資格申請條件性合法永久居留權。兩年的 條件性居留期末，如果該外國投資者能證明達到了創造工作崗位的要求，他/她就有資格申請撤銷對他們的 合法永久居留權的諸多限制條件。然而，該項目並不保證通過 EB-5 項目進行投資的外國投資人能獲得美 國簽證或者成為合法的美國永久居民。更多詳情，敬請參閱 USCIS 網站 www.uscis.gov 的 EB-5 移民投資者部分。

一個企業經 USCIS 指定成為區域中心的事實並不意味著 USCIS、SEC 或任何其他政府機構就批准了其提 供的各種投資專案，或者已經以其他形式表達了對其投資質量的觀點。SEC 和 USCIS 知悉以濫用 EB-5 項目為手段而進行欺詐性的證券發行的企圖。最近的一起 SEC v. Marco A. Ramirez, et al. 案件中， SEC 以及 USCIS 共同阻止了一起涉嫌投資騙局， SEC 聲稱該騙局中包括 USA Now 區域中心在內的被 告人，向投資者虛假承諾 5%的投資回報以及有機會獲得 EB-5 簽證。該推銷商涉嫌在 USCIS 指定其企業 成為區域中心之前就招攬投資者。SEC 聲稱，雖然被告人告知投資人在 USCIS 批准其公司有資格進行 EB-5 項目之前，他們的資金會由託管機構保存，但被告人卻將投資人資金挪作己用，例如向其 Cajun 主 題餐廳提供資金。根據 SEC 的起訴狀，投資者通過 USA Now 區域中心進行的投資，連條件性簽證都沒有 得到。

在另一起 SEC v. A Chicago Convention Center, et al. 案件中， SEC 以及 USCIS 共同阻止了一起 涉嫌 1.56 億美元的投資騙局。SEC 聲稱，某一個人和其設立的幾個公司在芝加哥的『World’s First Zero Carbon Emission Platinum LEED certified』酒店和會議中心，使用虛假和誤導性的資訊招攬投 資者，虛假地宣稱其公司已取得所有必要的建築許可證，還宣稱該工程獲得了幾個主要連鎖酒店的支持。 根據 SEC 的起訴狀，被告人承諾投資者，如果 EB-5 簽證申請被拒簽，他們為投資而支付的所有行政費用 將會被返還。被告人涉嫌在 USCIS 審批簽證申請之前，就花掉了投資人支付的 90%的行政費用，其中一 些挪作己用。

對於任何投資，仔細研究與 EB-5 相關的發行很重要。可採取下列步驟：

  • 確認其是否為 USCIS 指定的區域中心。如果意在通過某個區域中心進行投資，請在 USCIS 網站uscis.gov 核查最新的區域中心列表。如果該區域中心不在列表中，須特別謹慎。即使該中 心在列表中，也須甄別 USCIS 是否已經支持該中心及其提供的所有投資項目。
  • 索取其向 USCIS 提交的各種文檔影本。區域中心必須向 USCIS 提交一份初始申請表(Form I- 924)，以獲得 USCIS 的批准和指定，且在每個日曆年末須提交一份資訊搜集補充表。請向該區域 中心索取其向 USCIS 提交的此類表格和補充檔的影本。
  • 索取書面形式的投資資訊。向該發行人索取一份投資發行備忘錄或私募備忘錄。仔細考察，並研究 類似專案來評估其提案。若有疑慮，請仔細詢問。如果不瞭解檔中的資訊，抑或發行人不願回答您 的問題，或回答不能令您信服，請勿投資。
  • 查詢是否向推銷商支付費用。如果應該有獨立的顧問、律師或機構推薦或承銷該項投資，查詢在推 薦該項投資中，他們期望得到多少資金報酬或何種利益報酬。如果推銷商的資訊與投資發行備忘錄 或私募備忘錄中的資訊不一致時，請持懷疑態度，並謹慎對待。
  • 尋求獨立的驗證。確認關於該投資的聲明是否真實。例如，如果該項投資設商業地產的建設，核查 市政檔案，確認發行人是否已經取得適當的許可證明，以及國家或當地地產稅的評估是否與該區域 中心進行的地產開發價值相符。如果有其他公司參與了該工程，請徑直去那些公司確認。
  • 調查結構風險。請了解，您可能投資了一家新設立的、無任何資產擔保的商業企業，其旨在向其他 公司提供用於開發各類項目的貸款。請仔細調查各類貸款檔和發行專案陳述，確認該貸款是否安全， 有任何擔保物向投資者質押。
  • 考察專案開發人的經濟動機。EB-5 項目區域中心負責人和專案開發人常向其經營的各個工程進行 資本投資。甄別中心負責人和專案開發人是否在該工程中直接投資，他們的經濟動機可能並不與該 專案的成功相關。
  • 尋找欺詐的警示信號。如果您發現欺詐的任何跡象，請務必警惕。
    • 承諾會獲得簽證或成為合法的永久居民。通過 EB-5 項目進行投資的投資者只是有資格申 請條件性簽證，但並不能確保獲得 USCIS 簽發的簽證或進而撤銷申請永久居留權的各項 限制條件。USCIS 通常會仔細審核每個簽證申請，條件不符合的申請會被拒簽。保證獲得 簽證或綠卡、允諾獲得簽證或綠卡的時間都是欺詐的警示信號。
    • 保證投資回報或投資無風險。通過 EB-5 項目進行的投資肯定在投資回報上有風險。若向 您保證投資回報，或告知您將返還一部分投資金額，請警惕。
    • 過於穩定的高投資回報。投資傾向於隨時間推移而忽高忽低，高投資回報的投資尤其如此。 若某項投資不顧整體市場情況而宣稱能提供或持續產生高投資回報率，請警惕。
    • 未經註冊立項的投資項目。即使一個區域中心可能是由 USCIS 指定的，很多區域中心提 供的大多數新商業企業投資機會並未在 SEC 或在各個州的管理機構註冊立項。一旦某個證 券發行專案未經註冊立項，發行人就不會向投資者提供諸如公司管理、產品、服務以及註 冊所需的財務狀況證明等關鍵資訊。這種情形下，投資者需獲得關於該公司的其他資訊， 説明確認該投資機會是否是善意、真實的。
    • 未經許可的銷售商。聯邦或州證券法律要求提供和推銷投資項目的投資專業人士及其事務 所應獲得許可資格或經過註冊。被指定為區域中心並不能滿足這一要求。許多欺詐性的投 資項目就牽涉了沒有許可資格的個人或未經註冊的事務所。
    • 由相同的個人經營的多層級的公司。一些 EB-5 區域中心投資專案由多層級的不同公司構 成，而此類公司卻由相同的個人經營。這種情形下，請確認利益衝突是否已充分披露並且 減少到最低程度。

如果您通過 EB-5 項目進行的投資結果卻是一個欺詐性的證券發行項目，您不僅損失了金錢，還失去了獲 得在美國獲得合法的永久居留權的途徑。因此，在您投資前，在您還希望成為一個美國的合法、永久居民 時，請審慎考察 EB-5 投資項目。

近年來，USCIS 和 SEC 建立了強大的夥伴關係，重點保證 EB-5 項目的真實性。兩大機構就發行的專案 在特定範圍內、按照既定的方案相互協調，並共同投身於公眾參與活動，在專案開發人和投資者中提高有 關專案發行的意識。本次投資者警告是雙方就促進 EB-5 項目真實性所作努力的又一明證。

其他資料

  • 查看英語文檔， 請登錄gov/investor/alerts/ia_immigrant.htm。
  • 查看韓語文檔， 請登錄gov/investor/alerts/ia_immigrantko.pdf 。
  • 查看西班牙語文檔， 請登錄gov/investor/alerts/ia_immigrantsp.pdf 。
  • SEC Press Release: SEC v. Marco A. Ramirez, et al., 請登錄gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370539854731。
  • SEC Litigation Release: SEC v. A Chicago Convention Center, et al.， 請登錄 segov/litigation/litreleases/2013/lr22615.htm.
  • SEC Investor Alert: Social Media and Investing – Avoiding Fraud， 請登錄gov/investor/alerts/socialmediaandfraud.pdf。
  • SEC Investor Bulletin: Affinity Fraud， 請登錄gov/investor/alerts/affinityfraud.pdf。
  • SEC Article: Avoiding Fraud， 請登錄gov/investing-basics/avoiding-fraud。

舉報可能的證券欺詐、諮詢、舉報有關投資問題、投資帳戶或財務專業人士，請訪問 http://www.sec.gov/complaint/select.shtml.

若要接收 SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy 的最新投資警告和公告，或訂閱我們的 RSS feed，請登錄 sec.gov/rss/investor/alertsandbulletins.xml；訂閱 email 發送資訊，請登錄 sec.gov/news/press/subscribe_updates.htm。您還可在 Twitter@SEC_Investor_Ed 上關注我們， 或訪問 Investor.gov,這是 SEC 專門為個人投資者製作的網站。

http://www.sec.gov/investor/alerts/ia_immigrantch.pdf

The Office of Investor Education and Advocacy 僅將此資訊作為一項服務提供給投資者，該資訊不能 被視作 SEC 政策的法律解讀或正式聲明。如對特定法律條文含義或適用性有疑義，請諮詢精通證券法的律 師。

（原文转载：http://www.sec.gov/investor/alerts/ia_immigrantch.pdf）

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