Member of ‘China’s Most Wanted’ among more than 100 granted visas in scheme; Millions in investor funds spent on cars and homes; EB-5 projects never emerged
WASHINGTON – Recent news reports of an elaborate EB-5 investor visa scheme are raising fresh concerns of the program’s national security vulnerabilities as a bipartisan, bicameral coalition of lawmakers continues to press for reforms. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is raising questions about a scheme that allowed fraudsters to pocket $50 million from Chinese investors that should have gone to U.S. job-creating development projects. While the projects never materialized, more than 100 Chinese investors, including several Chinese fugitives, obtained visas.
The EB-5 program, which is scheduled to expire at the end of April absent Congressional action, issues work visas and a pathway to citizenship for foreign nationals who invest in certain U.S. development projects. The program was designed to foster U.S. job creation, particularly in rural and distressed urban areas, but has been mired by fraud, abuse and integrity issues. In this latest case, a trio of fraudsters spent roughly $15 million in funds collected from investors on high-priced cars and several multi-million dollar homes. Meanwhile, nearly three years after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved the development project, no construction has taken place. Both the FBI and Department of Homeland Security raised concerns about several of the investors, including investors who are on a Chinese government list of most-wanted fugitives.
“It’s alarming that this information was not discovered before these individuals were permitted to enter the United States. Unfortunately, this is not the first time criminals have been discovered using the EB-5 program to enter the United States,” Grassley said in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.
Grassley is seeking details on the fraudulent regional center as well as the investors who funded it. Specifically, he is seeking government documents related to the project as well as information on each of the investors. Further, he is asking whether USCIS ever audited the project and why it has not filed charges against the three fraudsters.
Grassley has long advocated for reforms to EB-5 that address widespread fraud and national security vulnerabilities. He has called for an end to abusive gerrymandering practices that funnel investment dollars away from rural and economically distressed areas, which the program was designed to prioritize. In a recent letter to congressional leadership, Grassley and Judiciary leaders advocated for letting the program expire at the end of the month, absent meaningful reforms.
Full text of Grassley’s letter to Secretary Kelly
