Jay Peak

NEWPORT — Bill Stenger was fired from his job as a consultant working for the receiver overseeing Jay Peak and related properties.

Michael I. Goldberg, the receiver for Jay Peak, made the announcement on Friday.

In a statement, Goldberg said Stenger’s termination should not be interpreted as an indication that “the receiver believes that William Stenger did anything wrong.”

He says the decision to terminate Stenger at this time is simply based on his opinion that it would not be appropriate to continue to retain him in light of the recent indictment.

Last week Stenger was in federal court in Burlington to plead not guilty to criminal charges alleging he conspired in a multi-year wire fraud scheme to defraud immigrant investors seeking green cards through the EB-5 program.

He was released after posting a $100,000 appearance bond.

As a consultant working for the receiver, Stenger was paid at a rate of $50 per hour and was allowed to use of an older model Volvo belonging to Jay Peak.

Goldberg says he wishes Bill Stenger and his family well in this difficult time.

NEWPORT — A 22-year-old man from New Jersey will have to face a judge on Monday to answer to numerous charges after an incident at Jay Peak Resort on Saturday.

At around 6:00 p.m. police responded to the resort for a report of an unruly and intoxicated man.

Police met with Jay Peak Security and determined the man, identified as Daniel Syzdek, would be placed into protective custody due to his high level of intoxication and aggressiveness towards those at the resort.

According to the report, Syzdek resisted arrest and during the process of taking him into custody bit a trooper. Police say he also kicked a trooper.

Syzdek was transported to Derby to be processed.

He was lodged at Northern State Correctional Facility and has to appear in court on Monday to answer to charges of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assault on law enforcement.

Police say that the trooper was not injured during the arrest.

NEWPORT — An announcement was made today involving a $150 million settlement agreement with financial firm Raymond James Financial, Inc., over its role in the alleged fraud relating to EB-5 projects in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

This sum includes $4.5 million from a settlement VDFR reached in June 2016, and $145.5 million the company agreed to pay in a settlement, executed today.

The settlement agreement will be filed in the U.S. District Court in Miami, Fla., early next week and is subject to final approval by the Federal Court.

“This is significant for the hundreds of businesses, contractors and investors that have been harmed by this alleged fraud,” said Gov. Scott.

Settlement funds will be used to pay approximately 42 contractors, 513 trade creditors and 169 project investors who were financially impacted by the alleged fraud.

The impact in Vermont will be significant, with 241 Vermont-based businesses, nonprofits and municipalities receiving approximately $9.06 million.

Burke Mountain Academy will receive $3 million for a deferred compensation agreement entered when it sold the Burke Ski Resort in 2005, $1 million of which will be used to construct a new ski lift.

An additional $17.5 million will be used to complete cottages, a recreation center and fields as part of the Stateside Hotel at Jay Peak.

Vermont-based DEW Construction will serve as the contractor for these projects.

“DFR is tremendously pleased with Mr. Goldberg’s efforts to achieve this settlement for Vermont businesses and municipalities, and all those impacted in this matter,” said Commissioner Pieciak. “To achieve this type of a settlement – one that fully reimburses all unpaid creditors in a year’s time – is truly unique, and it also represents the largest recovery settlement ever for an EB-5 fraud case.”

All 42 contractors who were owed money for work completed on the Stateside Hotel and Burke Mountain Hotel and Conference Center projects will be fully reimbursed, receiving a total of approximately $5.8 million.

This settlement supersedes a previous repayment arrangement for contractors announced in January 2017, meaning all contractors will be paid 100 percent of their claims. The settlement also repays approximately 513 businesses, nonprofits and municipalities that were owed money for products and services previously provided to Jay Peak, totaling approximately $5.1 million.

Approximately 169 investors in Tram Haus Lodge at Jay Peak and AnC Bio – a biomedical research facility planned for Newport – will receive $81.2 million, representing a full repayment of their investment. An additional $1 million will be used to refund three Burke investors whose I-526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur was denied related to an investor-specific matter.

The Receiver will hold $10 million for Burke investors in the event the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – which oversees EB-5 projects at the federal level – determines construction of the hotel does not create sufficient jobs for all investors.

“Repayment of contractors, municipalities and businesses has been a top priority for me, along with ensuring the ongoing viability of the resorts in support of the local economy, and this is an important milestone towards those goals,” said Goldberg.

The settlement agreement was filed on the one-year anniversary of the date securities fraud charges were filed against Jay Peak owner Ariel Quiros and resort President and CEO Bill Stenger.

NEWPORT — In a letter issued to investors and creditors of Jay Peak on Friday, the receiver for the Jay Peak properties announced that Bill Stenger is no longer working at the resort.

“Please be advised that as of Friday, September 2nd, Bill Stenger is no longer an employee of Jay Peak, but instead Bill will provide assistance to the receiver on an as‐needed basis,” the letter, issued by Michael Goldberg reads.

On Thursday Stenger announced that he entered into a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused him and his partner of operating a multi-million dollar Ponzi-like scheme.

According to the settlement, Stenger agreed not to admit or deny any allegations that he aided and abetted the alleged fraud.

He may still have to pay a civil penalty.

“We thank Bill for his assistance over the past few months,” Goldberg wrote in the letter.

NEWPORT — Jay Peak Resort will have to adhere to tougher pollution control measures after signing a settlement agreement between the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC), and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Conservation.

For more than a decade construction projects at the resort have caused sediment to flow into streams, leading to violations of state water quality standards. Elevated sediment runoff into streams can impact fish habitat, and habitat of other aquatic organisms.

“We have been concerned that for years these streams have failed to meet Vermont’s Water Quality Standards while land development has continued to discharge additional sediment pollution,” said Kim Greenwood, VNRC’s water program director and staff scientist.

In 2004, the Department of Environmental Conservation found that Jay Branch and Tributary 9 of Jay Branch were “impaired” by sediment pollution, meaning the streams failed to meet applicable minimum state water quality standards for aquatic life. According to their finding, the initial impairment of the Jay Branch was attributed to the failure to comply with applicable Vermont construction and erosion control permits and operational stormwater permits.

Recently, an additional stream, Tributary 3 of South Mountain Branch, was identified as impaired.

Over the past several years, various “Water Quality Remediation Plans” were approved. Despite the implementation of the remediation plans, the streams remain impaired.

In 2014, VNRC, represented by the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic of Vermont Law School, appealed the recent stormwater discharge permits issued to Jay Peak. As a result of the appeal, the parties engaged in settlement discussions to craft a clean-up plan that requires additional measures to provide for attainment of Vermont’s Water Quality Standards within a specified timeframe.

“An innovative part of the plan requires Jay Peak to offset sediment discharges so there is no net increase of sediment into impaired streams,” said Jamey Fidel, General Counsel for VNRC.

The agreement has several provisions, including:

• Jay Peak will follow an aggressive compliance schedule for stream restoration.

• Until all streams are in attainment with water quality standards, permits for new discharges will require no net increase of sediment loading. This will be accomplished through the design of additional remedial (“offset”) projects.

• If Jay Peak does not meet the schedule for cleaning up the streams, Jay Peak will not begin new construction until the streams recover.

• If streams show excessive amounts of sediment after having met water quality standards, Jay Peak will not begin new construction until the streams recover.

• All impaired waters at Jay Peak will be in attainment with water quality standards before beginning construction on the West Bowl (a currently undeveloped area adjacent to the resort).

• Before Jay Peak will apply for any Department of Environmental Conservation permits for development in the West Bowl, Jay Peak will submit a Water Quality Protection Plan that includes detailed scientific information to demonstrate whether the waters will be negatively impacted by new development.

• The Department and Jay Peak Resort will host a meeting once a year to update the public on the progress of restoring the streams.