[F]ormer Jay Peak owner Ariel Quiros has gained a judge’s approval to sell three airplanes that were not part of any settlement he reached with federal or state regulators to resolve EB-5 investor fraud lawsuits brought against him.
Judge Darrin P. Gayles recently signed off on a request by Quiros to modify a court order that had been in place since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought its lawsuit against the Miami businessman in April 2016.
That court order had blocked Quiros from selling off his assets, such as land, buildings and other personal property in which he “held a direct or indirect interest.”
In February, Quiros agreed to turn over an estimated $81 million in assets to the SEC to settle the 52 counts of investor fraud leveled against him by the federal regulators.
Those assets including two ski resorts he owned in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom: Jay Peak Resort and Burke Mountain Ski Resort. The aircraft were not a part of that settlement.
Now, Quiros has gained approval to modify the asset freeze that has remained in place in the case while he works to fulfill his agreement with the SEC, “a process that has taken “significantly longer than expected, through no fault of any party,” his filing stated.
“Meanwhile,” according to the document, “Mr. Quiros has begun negotiations for the sale of three small, fixed wing training aircraft owned by him which aircraft were previously disclosed to the SEC but which are not part of the assets to be disgorged to the SEC or the Receiver pursuant to the Final Judgment.”
The three aircraft, according to the filing, are:
2014 Fixed Wing Single Engine Aircraft
Manufactured by Flight Design GMBH
Purchase Price $100,000 (in 2014)
— 2012 Fixed Wing Single Engine Aircraft
Manufactured by Flight Design GMBH
Purchase Price $100,000 (in 2014)
-2014 Fixed Wing Single Engine Aircraft
Manufactured by Flight Design GMBH
Purchase Price $110,000 (in 2014)
Quiros has struggled to come up with cash since the asset freeze against him was implemented, with past attorneys complaining that he failed to pay them millions in lawyer fees.
Melissa Visconti, the Florida attorney now representing Quiros, did not return messages Tuesday seeking comment.
Quiros and his past business partner, Bill Stenger, former CEO at Jay Peak, were accused in April 2016 in lawsuits brought by state and federal regulators of misusing $200 million in EB-5 investor funds as they built massive upgrades at the resort and pitched other massive projects.
Stenger has settled with the SEC, agreeing to pay a $75,000 penalty, far less than the $81 million in assets Quiros agreed to turn over to federal regulators to resolve that case against him.
The SEC had termed Quiros the “mastermind” of the “Ponzi-like” investor fraud scheme. In the settlements, neither Stenger nor Quiros admitted or denied wrongdoing.
Also, earlier this year, the state entered into agreements with Stenger and Quiros to resolve its case against the two developers.
Quiros agreed to turn over to the state five properties the state values at $2 million. Stenger will pay $100,000 over the course of four years to the state Agency of Commerce and Community Development for economic development purposes in Newport.
