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Kingdom Con kingpin sentenced to 5 years prison
https://www.wcax.com/2022/04/29/kingdom-con-kingpin-sentenced-5-years-prison/Kingdom Con kingpin sentenced to 5 years prison
By Calvin Cutler
Published: Apr. 29, 2022 at 11:49 AM EDT|Updated: 14 hours ago
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Ariel Quiros, the Florida businessman prosecutors say was the mastermind behind the largest fraud case in Vermont history, was sentenced in federal court in Burlington Friday to serve five years in prison.
The former owner of Jay Peak and Burke Mountain Resorts pleaded guilty two years ago to wire fraud, money laundering, and concealment of material information in the massive Ponzi scheme. Nine other charges were dropped in the plea deal. He had faced a maximum of nearly eight years in prison under the plea deal. In addition to the 60-month sentence, Judge Geoffrey Crawford also ordered Quiros to pay roughly $8 million in restitution and placed him under supervision for an additional three years.
Federal prosecutors in court described Ariel Quiros as the driving force behind the Kingdom Con, promising jobs at Jay Peak, Burke Mountain, and a state-of-the-art biotech company in Newport. And it was all funded by $450 million in half-million-dollar investments from scores of foreign investors hoping to cash in on green cards under the federal EB-5 program. But the promise to transform the Northeast Kingdom with money and jobs was all a sham.
Character witnesses speaking on behalf of Quiros said he was confused about his culpability and didn’t understand that he broke the law. Defense lawyers also highlighted Quiros’ military service in South Korea, where they say he took on cultural attributes including extreme loyalty, a characteristic he expected from others. They also argued that as the first person to plead guilty, his cooperation in the case against co-defendants Bill Stenger and William Kelly, should be rewarded.
[...]
By Calvin Cutler
Published: Apr. 29, 2022 at 11:49 AM EDT|Updated: 14 hours ago
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Ariel Quiros, the Florida businessman prosecutors say was the mastermind behind the largest fraud case in Vermont history, was sentenced in federal court in Burlington Friday to serve five years in prison.
The former owner of Jay Peak and Burke Mountain Resorts pleaded guilty two years ago to wire fraud, money laundering, and concealment of material information in the massive Ponzi scheme. Nine other charges were dropped in the plea deal. He had faced a maximum of nearly eight years in prison under the plea deal. In addition to the 60-month sentence, Judge Geoffrey Crawford also ordered Quiros to pay roughly $8 million in restitution and placed him under supervision for an additional three years.
Federal prosecutors in court described Ariel Quiros as the driving force behind the Kingdom Con, promising jobs at Jay Peak, Burke Mountain, and a state-of-the-art biotech company in Newport. And it was all funded by $450 million in half-million-dollar investments from scores of foreign investors hoping to cash in on green cards under the federal EB-5 program. But the promise to transform the Northeast Kingdom with money and jobs was all a sham.
Character witnesses speaking on behalf of Quiros said he was confused about his culpability and didn’t understand that he broke the law. Defense lawyers also highlighted Quiros’ military service in South Korea, where they say he took on cultural attributes including extreme loyalty, a characteristic he expected from others. They also argued that as the first person to plead guilty, his cooperation in the case against co-defendants Bill Stenger and William Kelly, should be rewarded.
[...]