Vermont's huge eb-5 scandal is likely the tip of the iceberg

[MADem]

4. Every politician in VT knows these guys. UH OH....

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Left to right: Congressman Peter Welch, Bill Stenger, Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Gov. Peter Shumlin, Ariel Quiros and William Kelly in Newport in September 2012

Leahy's peers in Vermont's congressional delegation remained silent Thursday about the Northeast Kingdom collapse. Neither Sanders, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, nor Welch publicly commented on it. Both had participated in the September 2012 tour of Stenger's and Quiros' proposed projects, during which the photo of the men was taken.

For his part, Shumlin repeatedly noted at Thursday's Statehouse press conference that not only had EB-5 predated his time in office, but that Stenger's and Quiros' alleged fraud had begun "three years before I became governor." Shumlin, a Democrat, succeeded former Republican governor Jim Douglas in January 2011. The SEC says the scam began as early as June 2008, when the two bought Jay Peak using investor funds earmarked for other purposes.

Shumlin argued that his December 2014 decision to transfer state EB-5 oversight authority from the Agency of Commerce & Community Development to the Department of Financial Regulation prompted the investigation that led to the state's civil case. But by that time, the SEC had been investigating Stenger and Quiros for months — if not years. Shumlin said he was not responsible for the lax oversight regime that existed through most of his first four years in office. ....

Let the finger pointing begin--they're all either ducking the press or accusing their peers of being the ones responsible for this hot potato...~!