Lazy Wrote:
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> Who is in the picture?
Anthony Rodham (Hillary's bro)
Terry McAuliffe (see below)
Anshoo Sethi (Chicago scammer whose companies involved in the same program recently were raided re fraud).
> Why does it matter?
http://watchdog.org/76965/experts-question-source-of-mcauliffe-car-company-funding/
RICHMOND — Gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe’s use of an immigrant-investor program to raise money for his electric-vehicle venture [updated] is unworkable, experts said.
To kick-start GreenTech Automotive in Mississippi, the Virginia Democrat has sought funding through federal EB-5 immigration visas. In exchange for investments of $500,000, foreign nationals can gain U.S. residency for themselves and their families.
But the EB-5 system has been heavily criticized for its lack of transparency and lackadaisical enforcement. McAuliffe’s venture is seen as a particularly bad fit for the alien-investor program that’s supposed to create U.S. jobs.
Documents obtained by Watchdog.org show that, in their 2009 analysis of the project, Virginia officials warned Gov. Tim Kaine about the project. Allowing GreenTech to proceed with EB-5 funding in that state “would cause some to conclude that the commonwealth knew, or should have known, that there were problems, but proceeded nonetheless.”
“EB-5 is good for funding certain kinds of projects, but it’s not appropriate for this type of large-scale, long-term funding,” said Michael Gibson, managing partner of U.S. Advisors, a Florida-based research and investment firm knowledgeable about the program.
McAuliffe, the company’s founder and chairman, announced in 2009 intentions to build “neighborhood electric vehicles” that are little bigger or faster than golf carts. The GTA website touts “Green Jobs Made in the USA,” but, in fact, few U.S. jobs and fewer cars have been created.
“This project is a fantasy. It’s really a very poorly conceived project for EB-5 financing, and extremely problematic,” Gibson told Watchdog.
GreenTech’s conduit for EB-5 investors is Gulf Coast Funds Management Ltd., a regional center authorized by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The center’s board of directors is larded with political cronies who have close connections to Bill and Hillary Clinton.