by

New Shark in the House…

Okay, in the past week days I've had two existing EB-5 RC clients come to me after hearing flat out lies from securities attorneys attempting to make a fast buck…and today I had a THIRD (prospective) client ask me the same question.

It would appear the latest incarnation of the Man in the Gray Suit (i.e., shark) on the EB-5 scene is The Securities Lawyer, Part II.  Now some are pushing a “Reg D filing” fear…when, by DEFINITION, an offering made under the Reg D exemption to 17 CFR § 230.501 is an “EXEMPTION TO REGISTRATION”.  Don't believe me?  Here's what the SEC has to say: http://www.sec.gov/answers/regd.htm

The only thing an EB-5 funded project has to file is the horrific Form D…but only AFTER investments start coming in.  Form D, a pain in the neck 15-pager humorously referred to by the SEC in the above link as a "brief notice" is a admittedly a bear and something for which you SHOULD have a securities attorney — here is the link –  http://www.sec.gov/about/forms/formd.pdf 

About a year ago, there emerged the barrage of know-nothing deportation lawyers buying "EB-5 expert" Googlewords, next came The Securities Lawyer, Part I (AKA the "I'll be happy to review the PPM USCIS has approved repeatedly for Jose for only $35,000" scumbags)…now this.  SHAME on you guys.  A qualified Securities Attorney is and should be part of any Regional Center structuring process, and their role is critical.  But fear-mongering through the clever manipulation of cryptic SEC terminology in order to trick people into thinking they need your services is not only unethical and a breach of bar rules…it is fraud.  Enticing someone into paying you to do something they don't need is FRAUD.

Newsflash to the short-sighted: big, fat, bald-faced lies do not build a law practice.