More than 200 Chinese people who wanted to invest in the United States and immigrated to the United States were defrauded of hundreds of millions of dollars

More than 200 Chinese people who wanted to invest in the United States and immigrated to the United States were defrauded of hundreds of millions of dollars. American businessmen falsely claimed that they could obtain green cards by investing. The Securities and Exchange Commission froze the fraudsters and their company assets. About 2...

Securities and Exchange Commission freezes fraudsters and their company assets

About 200 Chinese people were defrauded of hundreds of millions of dollars

On the 8th local time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on its website that American businessman Seth He falsely claimed that investors could quickly obtain the opportunity to immigrate to the United States by purchasing shares in his company, and defrauded more than 250 investors, most of whom were from China, of US$145 million in investments and US$11 million in management fees. The SEC has frozen the assets of Seth and his two companies, retaining hundreds of millions of dollars in investment funds, but 90% of the $11 million in management fees that investors were defrauded has been spent.

The two companies Seth founded are the Chicago Convention Center (ACCC) and the Chicago Intercontinental Regional Center Trust (IRCTC). Seth had previously falsely claimed that his company would finance the construction of "the world's first zero-carbon emission platinum LEED certified" hotel and conference center near Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Investors can quickly obtain the opportunity to immigrate to the United States through the EB-5 immigrant investor pilot program as long as they purchase shares in ACCC.

The main content of the EB-5 program is that if overseas investors invest US$1 million (or US$500,000 in "specific employment areas" with high unemployment) in projects that create or maintain 10 American worker jobs, they may obtain a US green card.

>The SEC said Seth and his company deceived Chinese investors into saying they had obtained all necessary construction permits and that several hotel chains had joined the project. They also submitted forged documents to the U.S. Corporate Identity and Immigration Services in an attempt to obtain project permits and temporary visas for investors.

> The SEC alleged that Seth fraudulently sold more than $145 million in securities to more than 250 investors, mainly from China, and collected $11 million in management fees. Seth had promised to refund the management fee collected if the visa was unsuccessful, but Seth and his company had already spent 90% of the management fee. Among them, more than US$2.5 million has entered Seth's personal account in Hong Kong.

"The good news is that we intervened early and the asset freeze preserved almost all of the investment funds." said Stephen L. Cohen, deputy director of the SEC's Enforcement Division. According to the charges in the SEC complaint, Seth and his two companies violated Sections 17(a) and 10(b) of the Securities Act of 1933. In addition to the temporary restraining order and asset freeze granted by the court, the SEC's complaint seeks a permanent injunction and other monetary injunctions. (Reporter Liu Jia, news from Xinhuanet)