Raymond James Pays $150 Million to Settle Jay Peak Fraud Case

Update on the Jay Peak Fraud Case

Raymond James Financial has agreed to pay $150 million to settle all investor claims arising from the Jay Peak Fraud case,  an allegedly fraudulent Vermont ski resort project in which a former branch manager at the firm was implicated.

The settlement, made with a court-appointed receiver, arose out of charges filed by the SEC in April 2016 alleging that Ariel Quiros of Miami and William Stenger of Newport, Vt., misused $200 million of the $350 million they raised from investors to construct facilities at the Jay Peak ski resort in Jay, Vt. The agency claimed Quiros spent $50 million of that money on personal and other expenses.

Miami-based Raymond James branch manager Joel Burstein was charged with aiding in the scheme. The charges alleged the firm and Burstein allowed Quiros to margin investor funds and divert the loan proceeds for improper uses. Burstein, who voluntarily resigned from Raymond James in December after being named in a number of investor lawsuits, is Quiros’ former son-in-law.

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program

Quiros and Stenger raised money for the Jay Peak project through a U.S. government visa program, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, that allows foreign investors and their families to obtain permanent residency in return for investing in U.S. businesses.

Investors and contractors will be compensated through the funding of incomplete projects, or with returns of money when construction projects are no longer feasible, the firm said.

The foregoing information, which is all publicly available, is being provided by The White Law Group. The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Franklin, Tennessee.

For more information on The White Law Group and its representation of investors, visit http://whitesecuritieslaw.com.

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