Archive

In Their Own Words -- Painter

-- “They clearly imply that the Kushners are going to make sure you get your visa.”

Richard Painter, former White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush commenting on the presentation by Nicole Kushner Meyer, Jared Kushner’s sister, to Chinese investors regarding investment in Kushner companies.

In a Beijing Ballroom, Kushner Family Pushes $500,000 “Investor Visa” to Wealthy Chinese

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Over the weekend reports emerged of a presentation by Nicole Kushner Meyer, sister of White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, to wealthy Chinese investors. Ms. Meyer was urging Chinese citizens to invest in Kushner companies in order to obtain an EB-5 visa. This is not the first time the Kushner companies have been linked with Chinese investors and EB-5 visas. The EB-5 visa...

Fraudster of the Week -- Barbara Byrd-Bennett, Ex-CEO of Chicago Public Schools

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Last Friday, a federal judge sentenced former Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett to more than four years in prison for her role in steering $23 million in city contracts in exchange for kickbacks.  Byrd-Bennett—who earned a $250,000 annual salary and had multiple pensions from previous jobs—received more than $2 million for her role in the...

DOJ Catch of the Week -- Import Merchandising Concepts

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week's Department of Justice "Catch of the Week" goes to Import Merchandising Concepts L.P.  On Monday, the Texas-based importer (and two affiliated individuals) agreed to pay $275,000 to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act by evading customs duties on imports of wooden bedroom furniture from China.  The company imports, among other things, bedroom furniture...

Whistleblowers Help Uncover EB-5 Visa Fraud

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Approximately two weeks ago on April 5, authorities raided a business run by a California attorney and her father under suspicion of orchestrating a $50 million EB-5 visa scheme. The father and daughter owned a company called California Investment Immigration Fund LLC (“CIIF”). CIIF raised money from over one hundred Chinese investors for business projects. Under the EB-5...

$150 Million Settlement Announced in Vermont Ski Resort Fraud Case

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team A year after the owner and president of a Vermont ski resort were accused by the state and the SEC of massive fraud, a $150 million settlement has been reached with Raymond James Financial Inc., which is the financial institution allegedly at the heart of the fraud. The federal receiver overseeing Jay Peak ski resort said the settlement agreement will be filed in court next...

Two State Social Services Departments Settle FCA Suits over SNAP Funds

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week, the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WDHS) each agreed to pay the United States roughly $7M to settle allegations that they violated the FCA in their administrations of the SNAP program (formerly known as the Food Stamp program). Both VDSS and WDHS used the same consultant, Julie Osnes Consulting, to advise...

Kushner Cos Stands to Gain Millions from EB-5 Investors

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Given the Trump administration’s stance on immigration—both legal and unauthorized—and the President’s professed wariness of the People’s Republic, it comes as some surprise that Trump son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner stands to gain millions from an anticipated partnership with Chinese company Anbang Insurance Group. Still more surprising is the related...

Congress' Band-Aid—It’s Up to Whistleblowers to Combat EB-5 Fraud

(Published in The Epoch Times) This fall, Congress approved a temporary spending bill to allow the government to function through December 9. Tangled in this temporary fiscal extension is the fate of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. Congress continues to effectively slap a Band-Aid on the program, hoping to “revisit or fix” it after the politicized environment of election season dies...

We Need Whistleblowers to Save Indian Workers from H-1B Visa Fraud

(Published in Huffington Post) The unscrupulous have long preyed on those seeking to immigrate to the United States. Scams and abuses affect all manner of hopeful immigrants, from hardworking agricultural laborers, to highly skilled experts in fields such as architecture, engineering and medicine. Skilled laborers often enter the US on an H-1B visa. When it works as intended, the H1-B program promises attractive...