The SEC has brought approximately 20 litigated or agreed enforcement actions since February 2013 that have involved securities offerings that were made in connection with the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (the “EB-5 Program”). These enforcement actions have primarily charged that EB-5 sponsors have engaged in some sort of offering fraud or that an EB-5 sponsor improperly acted as an unregistered broker-dealer in connection with the sale of securities. Not only is the SEC devoting enforcement resources to this area, but in 2016, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations also announced that it would allocate examination resources to a number of priorities, including private placements that involve the EB-5 Program.

The EB-5 Program. Congress created the EB-5 Program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy and to provide foreign … Read More »