Ariel Quiros and his partners completed a $27 million water park in Vermont’s Jay Peak prior to … [+]
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Claiming “inflammatory pretrial publicity” has made him “Vermont’s public enemy number one,” attorneys for Ariel Quiros are seeking to have the Key Biscayne-based entrepreneur’s criminal case moved out of the Green Mountain State.
Quiros, who owned a flight school and a biotech company in Florida before his Vermont business moves, is the alleged ringleader of a ponzi-like scheme that defrauded foreign investors out of nearly $200 million in connection with the redevelopment of two ski resorts and six other projects. In May, he was indicted in federal court on criminal charges of wire fraud and making false statements to the government.
Earlier this month, lawyers for Quiros and two of his former business partners who were also indicted filed motions for a change of venue. They cited ongoing negative coverage from Vermont media outlets has made it impossible for the trio to get a fair trial. Quiros also accused federal prosecutors of having conflicts of interest due to personal relationships they have with state and federal politicians who supported his ventures.
Magistrate Judge John M. Conroy will consider the change of venue request at a Dec. 20 hearing. The Vermont U.S. Attorney’s Office declined comment, but said it will soon file a response to Quiro’s motion.
Quiros has been made a “scapegoat” by government officials and Vermont politicians, and the Vermont media has “convicted Mr. Quiros before he has had his day in Court,” his attorneys wrote in the Oct. 15 filing.
“He has been compared to Bernie Madoff, Carlo “Charles” Ponzi, General Custer, and the Trump family,” the 88-page declaration alleges. “He has been referred to as a ‘skunk’ and a ‘shady operator’ and convicted in the court of public opinion of ‘stealing the hopes of Vermonters’ —despite the fact that neither this case nor any other has even alleged, let alone proven, that a single Vermonter was victimized.”
Quiros was the point man in redeveloping the Jay Peak and Burke Mountain ski resorts, along with other commercial projects such as a biomedical research center, involving the EB-5 visa program, which enables foreigners to qualify for permanent residency in the U.S. for themselves and immediate family members by investing at least $500,000 into projects in targeted employment areas that create at least 10 direct jobs. In 2008, Quiros’ company Q Resorts purchased the Jay Peak site and other assets from the original owner Mont Saint-Sauveur, which at the time had raised more than $20 million from foreign investors.
Initially, Quiros appeared to be delivering on his promises. Between 2009 and 2011, the 57-suite Tram Haus Lodge, the Ice Haus indoor skating rink, the Golf Clubhouse, the Pump House indoor water park and a hotel were completed. In 2012, Quiros purchased Burke Mountain Resort and work began on a new base lodge and chairlift.
A 2016 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation unraveled the alleged scam. The SEC accused Quiros and his alleged co-conspirators of illegally transferring $21.9 million in EB-5 funds into accounts he controlled at a Coral Gables branch of brokerage Raymond James and Associates.
He allegedly used the funds to pay off and pay down margin loans. He also misappropriated approximately $30 million to pay for a lavish lifestyle that included the purchase of a $2.2 million luxury condo in New York City’s Trump Palace, the SEC alleged in a civil complaint.