The State of Vermont, 64 individual plaintiffs who have sued the State, and the federal receiver for Jay Peak, Inc., et al., have reached an agreement to settle all pending and potential lawsuits against the State related to the eight Jay Peak EB-5 projects. The settlement agreement is conditioned upon entry of a bar order, which must be approved by the court overseeing the Jay Peak receivership before the settlement is finalized.
This global settlement includes a monetary structured settlement to obtain a bar order that, if approved by the court overseeing the Jay Peak receivership, will resolve all pending and potential lawsuits against the State that have been brought or could be brought by the approximately 850 investors in the Jay Peak EB-5 projects. To date, this includes 33 lawsuits by individual investors and a class action complaint filed on behalf of 121 investors. Together, the Jay Peak investors paid more than $400 million to the Jay Peak EB-5 projects in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. The total settlement amount resolving all outstanding and future claims is $16,500,000, payment of which will be structured over 3 years and will be paid into the Jay Peak receivership. Additionally, the State will continue its support of investors’ pursuit of Permanent Resident Cards (Green Cards), which, if successful, will reduce the State’s overall settlement payment by $4 million. In a separate agreement, the State previously agreed to settle the claims of 8 individual Jay Peak investors for $750,000.
“As I’ve said before, Vermonters, investors, and the State of Vermont were all deceived by the fraud of Ariel Quiros, Bill Stenger, and William Kelly,” said Attorney General Charity Clark. “This civil settlement will bring a global resolution to the State’s involvement in this matter, which will protect the State from additional EB-5 lawsuits, preventing further financial harm to Vermont. My team and I did not come to this decision lightly. Many years of extensive legal work, overseen by multiple attorneys general, have carried us to this point. This settlement removes the State’s exposure to financial risk and gives Vermont the opportunity to move forward from this chapter.”
Contact: Amelia Vath, Outreach and Communications Coordinator, 802-828-3171