Latest / IMI Podcasts / Chinese EB-5 Investors Allege $13.4 Million Fraud Tied to Northern Mariana Islands Project

Transcript

Chinese EB-5 Investors Allege $13.4 Million Fraud Tied to Northern Mariana Islands Project · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: More than twenty Chinese EB five investors sued in New York State Supreme Court seeking$13.4 million, alleging developers, immigration agents, and lawyers misled them into putting over twelve million dollars of EB five funds into a casino resort project in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, referred to as CNMI.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: The plaintiffs say the defendants touted government backing and project viability, promised swift EB five approvals, and used misleading construction images.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Nearly a decade after the planned 2016 start date, they say there is still no casino, no hotel, no EB five visas, and no repayment plan.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: As per the case filing, the plaintiffs accuse the defendants of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, negligent misrepresentation, and diverting EB5 funds.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: They name Xian Jun Meng, managing director of the American Northern Marianas Regional Center and CEO of Bridge Investment Group LLC and his partner Sylvia Sioux.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Investors seek restitution, damages, and removal of the defendants from control of the American Northern Marianas Economic Development Fund, LLC.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is treated as part of the United States for immigration purposes, so EB5 investments and job creation there qualify just as they do on the mainland.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: For lawful permanent residents, time spent living in the CNMI also counts toward U.S.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: residency and physical presence requirements for different types of residency visas.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: The CNMI is a U.S.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Commonwealth in the Western Pacific Ocean, north of Guam, south of Japan, and about 3,800 miles west of Hawaii, with Saipan, the capital, Tinian, and Rota as its main inhabited islands.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Despite its remote location in Micronesia, it is under U.S.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: sovereignty, and immigration benefits and obligations apply the same as in the continental United States.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Fraud related to EB5 isn't uncommon.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: In Vermont, two resort projects raised money from hundreds of foreign investors by promising they would qualify for EB5.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Regulators later said the developers misused$200 million of the funds instead of spending them on the projects.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: The projects collapsed, a receiver took control, and has been unwinding the businesses and trying to recover money for investors, with more than$13 million in receivership costs since 2016.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: In California, a San Jose attorney was charged in 2019 with submitting false EB5 filings and running a$52 million scheme involving more than 100 investors.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: She was extradited to the U.S.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: in March 2025 to face those charges.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Her former partner pleaded guilty in 2021 to related offenses.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by Mustafa Daly on IMIDAily.com.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Subscribe for free to the IMI newsletter for breaking news and updates from the investment migration industry.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: And upgrade your membership to IMI Pro to get access to our exclusive professional community, citizenship catalog, investment migration company Rolodex, private briefings, and more members only content.