Is SLS Casino going to cause massive losses to EB-5 visa investors? WHY should EB-5 visa investors choose Genuine Direct Investment Businesses to safely, quickly & (usually) profitably get their EB-5 visa?

Casinos throughout the US are seeing massive losses, with many casinos cannibalizing each other's profits, and with the advent of online gambling, Brick and Mortar casinos are set to lose a lot more money. Las Vegas based Casinos are anyway seeing plummeting revenues and increasing losses due to competition from casinos opening in other states, and these losses are expected to increase.

It is likely that several crucial facts were NOT disclosed to EB-5 visa investor's in SLS Casino, and those unfortunate investors will probably end up losing their time, EB-5 visa and also their money too. In the US, failure to disclose material facts while offering or selling securities is known as SECURITIES FRAUD.
The most important Question is, "Did the Promoters and Marketers of SLS Casinos commit conspiracy to commit securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud?" If the answer is, as I suspect, a resounding YES, then we may see a repeat of the Anshoo Sethi case, where the EB-5 visa investor funds are restored to the EB-5 visa investors, and their EB-5 visa revoked, denied or rescinded (depending on the circumstances). It is also possible that a certain L.A. based attorney and a L.A. based nightclub owner (who was anyway under investigation for other crimes), are indicted and convicted on the relatively easy to prove crimes of securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy, in what will be a very easy to prove RICO case. This case will probably be another classic example of WHY EB-5 visa investors should avoid regional centers and instead opt for Genuine Direct Investment Businesses.

EB-5 visa investors who wish to avoid litigation, fraud and controversy should choose Genuine Direct Investment Businesses. Genuine Direct Investment Businesses are usually straightforward and free from conflict of interest, fraud and shady dealings, and usually offer the following advantages over regional centers and direct partnership models such as the fraud & conflict of interest infested offerings offered by E3 Investment Group:

1. Easy exit strategy.
2. Annual ROE that is usually equivalent to over 20% while regional centers usually pay 1% or less annually.
3. EB-5 visa investors in Genuine Direct Investment Business usually get Capital Gains while those who invest in regional centers usually have capital loss.
4. Faster approvals: EB-5 visa investors who choose direct investments are seeing approvals in 4-7 months, while those who choose regional centers usually see delays of 16-21 months.
5. EB-5 visa investors in Genuine Direct Investments usually see zero fraud or conflict of interest, while regional center promoters such as Serge Bauer will not say if they comply with securities / tax / AML laws and don't commit securities fraud.
6. Higher approval rates of I-526 & I-829 compared to regional centers.

Why do regional centers offer such terrible results to EB-5 visa investors?

The answer is: Regional centers usually waste a lot of money for commissions, and also suffer from conflict of interest, where hiring and procurement of goods & services are from related parties at inflated costs.

As a regional center promoter's interest is in stealing instead of serving their investors, capital losses, low returns, delayed processing due to increased regulatory scrutiny, terrible exit strategies and high percentage of visa loss are inevitable.

EB-5 visa investors must remember an important fact: As licensed RE & Business Brokers, we actually owe a fiduciary duty to our clients. This means that the law requires us to always put our client's interests ahead of our own.

We recommend top ranked franchises instead of risky franchises such as Twistee Treat, Voodoo BBQ, Marcos Pizza, etc.
We don't engage in conflict of interest or conceal material facts.
We advise our clients in ways that help them get their green card (EB-5 visa) in a quick, safe and usually profitable manner, as a failure to do so will jeopardise our professional licenses.
We confidently offer written guarantees of full fee refund in case our client is denied due to our fault as well as written guarantees of freedom from fraud, conflict of interest and full disclosure of material facts.

Our competitors usually don't owe a fiduciary duty to their clients and usually refuse to offer the written guarantees that we confidently offer. Our team is competent, which is why we've no problems offering a 100% fee refund guarantee to our clients in case our clients fail to get their EB-5 visa due to our fault. If our competitors were asked to offer the same fee refund guarantee, they usually refuse to do so as they aren't that confident about the level of their services.

For more information, please visit our website http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com or read our blog at http://eb5-expert.blogspot.com/

Yours truly
Mohammed Shaikh, MBA, CFE, Licensed Business & RE Broker (CA & FL)
Phone: +1 407 535 0616 Skype: Mohammed.Shaikh
Online: The Best choice for EB-5 visa investors!

Has Serge Bauer of Maryland Regional Center actively defrauded EB-5 visa investors?

In 2012, Serge Bauer was directly asked " As a Regional Center attorney, are you willing to personally provide a sworn notarised affidavit made under the penalty of perjury that your regional center is free of fraud and conflict of interest, and discloses all material information to investors and also complies with securities / tax / foreign exchange laws governing the regional center's conduct in the US and abroad?" and he simply refused to do so, so I am sure we can all safely assume that he himself is was engaging in fraud too. (Mr. Bauer wrote on the 1st of February 2013, and claimed that "we have not accepted  subscribed any EB-5 investors nor accepted any deposits from any EB-5 investors." In that case, I stand corrected about the tense, as it may be more appropriate to use the past tense instead of the present tense. My doubts about Mr. Serge Bauer's ethics and the legality of his actions remain unchanged though. My questions for Mr. Serge Bauer at this point are:

1. Have you EVER attempted to illegally offer and / or sell securities to EB-5 visa investors, or otherwise help violate securities law violations or help those that did?
2. Did you EVER fail to disclose material facts to potential EB-5 visa investors?
3. Do you realise that during discovery, I will be subjecting you to the most invasive forensic audit, interrogatories, subpoenas and depositions you've ever seen to prove that you may have actually aided and abetted those who commit securities fraud, and may also have participated in a conspiracy to commit securities fraud and committed securities fraud, securities law violations and other felonies? This includes you as an attorney AND your regional center too, which means I will be going over your books and past communications, speaking with every single one of your clients to discover whether you speak the truth. Mr. Bauer doesn't realise that speaking the truth IS an affirmative defense and if I can uncover just how Anthony Rodham and Terry McAuliffe violated securities laws, committed securities fraud and laundered money, and also uncovered the conflict of interest by David Tashroudian and Joe Sloboda, as well as the shenanigans of Harry Reid & Sam Nazarian, he is incapable of hiding the truth from me, and I can easily expose him too. I don't do too many forensic audits nowadays, but I can go through discovery to expose him in a spectacular fashion, and speaking the truth has always been an affirmative defense.)

I have been blocked by Serge Bauer from posting on his LinkedIn forum as the truth actually hurts his business while it helps boost my business. A well informed EB-5 visa investor is actually my best customer, while a well informed investor is a regional center owner's worst nightmare.

Regional center promoters and affiliates such as Serge Bauer, Daniel Lundy, Brian Su, etc. can't deny the fact that crooked officials such as Alejandro Mayorkas (who got a presidential pardon for a drug dealer caught with 800 pounds of PURE COCAINE) have aided and abetted fraudulent regional centers such as SLS and GCFM, fraudulently and ILLEGALLY obtain EB-5 visas.

Regional center promoters and affiliates such as Serge Bauer, Daniel Lundy, Brian Su, etc. can't deny the fact that ICE (which is one of the largest Investigative Agencies in the US) has recommended that all regional centers be shut down due to fraud and money laundering.

Regional center promoters and affiliates such as Serge Bauer, Daniel Lundy, Brian Su, etc. can't deny the fact that SEC, IRS, FBI, DHS OIG and now even USCIS have started cracking down on fraud committed by regional centers.

Regional center promoters and affiliates such as Serge Bauer, Daniel Lundy, Brian Su, etc. can't deny the fact that Genuine Direct Investment Businesses usually offer the following advantages over regional centers and direct partnership models such as the fraud and conflict of interest infested offerings offered by E3 Investment Group:

1. Easy exit strategy while regional centers and other direct models lock up funds for 5-10 years.
2. Annual ROE that is usually equivalent to over 20% while regional centers usually pay 1% or less annually. In dollar terms, an EB-5 visa investor who invests $500,00 in a Genuine Direct Investment Business usually earns $100,000 or more annually, while those who invest in regional centers are lucky to even get $5,000 annually. 
3. Our EB-5 visa investors in Genuine Direct Investment Business usually get Capital Gains while those who invest in regional centers usually have capital loss of all or part of their capital.
4. Faster approvals: EB-5 visa investors who choose direct investments are seeing approvals in 4-7 months, while those who choose regional centers usually see massive delays and approvals in 16-21 months.
5. EB-5 visa investors in Genuine Direct Investments usually see zero fraud or conflict of interest, while it is apparent that even when directly asked, regional center promoters such as Serge Bauer will not say that they comply with securities / tax / AML laws and don't commit securities fraud.
6. Higher approval rates of I-526 & I-829 compared to regional centers.

Why do regional centers offer such terrible results to EB-5 visa investors?

The answer is: Regional centers usually pay a large amount of money paid towards commissions, and also suffer from conflict of interest, where hiring and procurement of goods & services are done from related parties at inflated costs.

If a regional center promoter's first interest is stealing instead of serving their investors, then capital losses, low returns, delayed processing due to increased regulatory scrutiny, terrible exit strategies and high percentage of visa loss are inevitable.

Why do our EB-5 visa investors usually see high return on equity, capital gains, 100% approval of I-526 and I-829, quick approval and no fraud or conflict of interest?

EB-5 visa investors must remember an important fact: As licensed RE & Business Brokers, we actually owe a fiduciary duty to our clients. This means that the law requires us to always put our client's interests ahead of our own. EB-5 visa investors should ask if the service provider owes them a fiduciary duty, and strongly suspect the motives of those who don't owe them fiduciary duties.

This is why we recommend top ranked franchises instead of risky franchises such as Twistee Treat, Voodoo BBQ, Marcos Pizza, etc.
This is why we don't engage in conflict of interest or conceal material facts.
This is why we advise our clients in ways that help them get their green card (EB-5 visa) in a quick, safe and usually profitable manner, as a failure to do so will jeopardise our professional licenses.
This is why we confidently offer written guarantees of full fee refund in case our client is denied due to our fault as well as written guarantees of freedom from fraud, conflict of interest and full disclosure of material facts.

Our competitors such as Serge Bauer, Brian Su, Daniel Lundy, etc. usually don't owe a fiduciary duty to their clients and will usually refuse to offer the written guarantees that we confidently offer. We know that our team is quite competent, which is why we've no problems in offering a 100% fee refund guarantee to our clients in case our clients fail to get their EB-5 visa due to our fault. If our competitors were asked to offer the same fee refund guarantee, they usually refuse to do so as they aren't that confident about the level of their services.

For more information, please visit our website http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com or read our blog at http://eb5-expert.blogspot.com/

Yours truly
Mohammed Shaikh, MBA, CFE, Licensed Business & RE Broker (CA & FL)
Phone: +1 407 535 0616
Online: http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com

Daniel B. Lundy is an attorney who finds it easy to make comments on LinkedIn EB-5 visa forums that block free speech.

Open letter to Mr. Daniel B. Lundy and Serge Bauer

My dear Mr. Lundy

I saw some of your comments on Serge Bauer's LinkedIn Forum, "EB5 visa group". I know that for a living, you aid and abet regional centers that are most likely committing securities fraud and securities law violations, and it is entirely your choice on how to earn your living. What you don't know is, I have been blocked by Serge Bauer from posting on his forum as the truth actually hurts his business while it helps boost my business. A well informed EB-5 visa investor is actually my best customer, while a well informed investor is a regional center owner's worst nightmare.

If you actually have a spine, why don't you and Jeff Wagner join my forum 'EB-5 visa - Direct Investment Business' and see if you can win a debate with me online. It is very easy for unethical folks who aid and abet crooks for a living to take potshots when they know I'm blocked from giving a fitting reply, but if you do happen to grow a spine, feel free to join me on a forum where we can debate. We will then let EB-5 visa investors at large decide on what is clearly the best option for EB-5 visa investors.

You tried to fact check me, and that is actually well and good. So, while you're fact checking, can you please let EB-5 visa investors know if my allegations about ALL regional centers violating securities laws and committing securities fraud are true or not? I know for a fact that I speak after having reviewed over 90% of all regional centers, and every single one I've reviewed over the past decade has actually violated securities laws, committed securities fraud AND laundered money too. Is that actually deniable? I don't think so. If you, who claims to have multiple regional center clients, can name even 4 (out of over 400) regional centers that have NOT illegally offered and sold securities (or intend to to do so), AND have not committed securities fraud (or are in the process of doing so), I and the entire EB-5 visa investor community would love to hear of them. FYI, failure to disclose material facts IS securities fraud.

By the way, even when Serge Bauer was directly asked " As a Regional Center attorney, are you willing to personally provide a sworn notarised affidavit made under the penalty of perjury that your regional center is free of fraud and conflict of interest, and discloses all material information to investors and also complies with securities / tax / foreign exchange laws governing the regional center's conduct in the US and abroad?" and he simply refused to do so, so I am sure we can all safely assume that he himself is engaging in fraud too. 


The only inaccurate statement I'd made was about a moratorium, when it actually was an unofficial delay based on a go slow approach adopted by USCIS officers who were appalled at the widespread fraud commmitted by regional centers. The mistake was based on an inaccurate statement that was relayed to me, and I will definitely accept that there was no moratorium, just a massive delay which we see till this date for regional center filed EB-5 visa petitions, as multiple agencies are collectively scrutinising the I-526 petitions filed by regional centers. 


EB-5 visa investors should remember that one small mistaken statement does NOT change the fact that for all intents and purposes, regional centers usually violate securities laws and commit securities fraud, and even Serge Bauer, the co-founder of a regional center, refused to provide an affidavit that he was not committing securities fraud or violating securities, tax and AML (Anti-Money Laundering laws).


Regional center promoters and affiliates such as Serge Bauer, Daniel Lundy, Brian Su, etc. can't deny the fact that crooked officials such as Alejandro Mayorkas (who got a presidential pardon for a drug dealer caught with 800 pounds of PURE COCAINE) have aided and abetted fraudulent regional centers fraudulently obtain EB-5 visas.


Regional center promoters and affiliates such as Serge Bauer, Daniel Lundy, Brian Su, etc. can't deny the fact that ICE (which is one of the largest Investigative Agencies in the US) has recommended that all regional centers be shut down due to fraud and money laundering.

Regional center promoters and affiliates such as Serge Bauer, Daniel Lundy, Brian Su, etc. can't deny the fact that SEC, IRS, FBI, DHS OIG and now even USCIS have started cracking down on fraud committed by regional centers.


Regional center promoters and affiliates such as Serge Bauer, Daniel Lundy, Brian Su, etc. can't deny the fact that Genuine Direct Investment Businesses usually offer the following advantages over regional centers and direct partnership models such as the fraud and conflict of interest infested offerings offered by E3 Investment Group:

1. Easy exit strategy while regional centers and other direct models lock up funds for 5-10 years.
2. Annual ROE that is usually equivalent to over 20% while regional centers usually pay 1% or less annually. In dollar terms, an EB-5 visa investor who invests $500,00 in a Genuine Direct Investment Business usually earns $100,000 or more annually, while those who invest in regional centers are lucky to even get $5,000 annually. 
3. Our EB-5 visa investors in Genuine Direct Investment Business usually get Capital Gains while those who invest in regional centers usually have capital loss of all or part of their capital.
4. Faster approvals: EB-5 visa investors who choose direct investments are seeing approvals in 4-7 months, while those who choose regional centers usually see massive delays and approvals in 16-21 months.
5. EB-5 visa investors in Genuine Direct Investments usually see zero fraud or conflict of interest, while it is apparent that even when directly asked, regional center promoters such as Serge Bauer will not say that they comply with securities / tax / AML laws and don't commit securities fraud.
6. Higher approval rates of I-526 & I-829 compared to regional centers.

Why do regional centers offer such terrible results to EB-5 visa investors?

The answer is: Regional centers usually pay a large amount of money paid towards commissions, and also suffer from conflict of interest, where hiring and procurement of goods & services are done from related parties at inflated costs.

If a regional center promoter's first interest is stealing instead of serving their investors, then capital losses, low returns, delayed processing due to increased regulatory scrutiny, terrible exit strategies and high percentage of visa loss are inevitable.

Why do our EB-5 visa investors usually see high return on equity, capital gains, 100% approval of I-526 and I-829, quick approval and no fraud or conflict of interest?

EB-5 visa investors must remember an important fact: As licensed RE & Business Brokers, we actually owe a fiduciary duty to our clients. This means that the law requires us to always put our client's interests ahead of our own. EB-5 visa investors should ask if the service provider owes them a fiduciary duty, and strongly suspect the motives of those who don't owe them fiduciary duties.

This is why we recommend top ranked franchises instead of risky franchises such as Twistee Treat, Voodoo BBQ, Marcos Pizza, etc.
This is why we don't engage in conflict of interest or conceal material facts.
This is why we advise our clients in ways that help them get their green card (EB-5 visa) in a quick, safe and usually profitable manner, as a failure to do so will jeopardise our professional licenses.
This is why we confidently offer written guarantees of full fee refund in case our client is denied due to our fault as well as written guarantees of freedom from fraud, conflict of interest and full disclosure of material facts.

Our competitors such as Serge Bauer, Brian Su, Daniel Lundy, etc. usually don't owe a fiduciary duty to their clients and will usually refuse to offer the written guarantees that we confidently offer. We know that our team is quite competent, which is why we've no problems in offering a 100% fee refund guarantee to our clients in case our clients fail to get their EB-5 visa due to our fault. If our competitors were asked to offer the same fee refund guarantee, they usually refuse to do so as they aren't that confident about the level of their services.

For more information, please visit our website http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com or read our blog at http://eb5-expert.blogspot.com/

Yours truly
Mohammed Shaikh, MBA, CFE, Licensed Business & RE Broker (CA & FL)
Phone: +1 407 535 0616
Online: http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com

EB-5 visa outlook and predictions for 2014 and 2015. Important facts for EB-5 visa investors to consider.

Here are my predictions for EB-5 visa investors for 2014 and 2015.

1. ICE's recommendation to shut down regional centers will be taken seriously and most if not all regional centers will be shut down by end of 2015.
2. Hundreds of EB-5 visa investors who failed to get their I-829 approved and are now out of status will be deported, resulting in massive lawsuits against regional centers as well as folks such as Brian Su, Thom Casebolt, Tyler McKay, Kevin Jeffers, Fred Burgess, Joe Sloboda and others who aided and abetted regional centers in committing massive securities fraud.
3. USCIS, SEC, IRS, FBI and ICE will issue several new regulations and increase regulatory oversight, resulting in further delays of regional center sponsored I-526 petitions from 18 months to 26 months.
4. Increased regulatory and compliance requirements will cause massive denials of regional center filed I-526 petitions for EB-5 visas due to securities law and fraud issues as regional centers
5. Number of Targeted Employment Areas (TEA) will sharply decrease due to improving labour market and sharp drop in unemployment numbers.
6. Chinese EB-5 visa Investors will see significant delay due to pending visa petitions.
7. Most EB-5 visa investors will refuse to deal with regional centers and ask for Direct Investment due to better returns and lower risk.

EB-5 visa investors should ask ALL EB-5 service providers who wish to provide advice or services to EB-5 visa investors, the following important questions and insist on getting the answers in writing in order to quickly weed out the frauds and crooks:

1) Will you be owing me a fiduciary duty if I signed up with you? If the answer is NO, then avoid them.

2) How many years of experience do you actually have with Direct Investments and how many EB-5 visa investors have you actually helped under the Direct Investment Category?

3) In the past, have you sold or marketed regional center securities to EB-5 visa investors? If the answer is YES, please avoid that individual, as it is quite likely that they have committed securities fraud and money laundering.

4) Are you willing to offer a written guarantee of full disclosure of material facts and freedom from conflict of interest?

5) Are you willing to offer a fee refund guarantee in case my case is denied due to your negligence or incompetence?

If a service provider or marketer will not owe you a fiduciary duty, then do NOT trust them at all. It is no secret that there is widespread conflict of interest and fraud going on against EB-5 visa investors, whether you see the example of Joe Sloboda marketing Voodoo BBQ without clearly disclosing his interests as a master franchisor and relationship with Fred Burgess, or the fact that EB-5 visa investors can get more established (and safer) fast food franchises to invest in, when compared to Voodoo BBQ, or the example of David Tashroudian, who wanted a wrap around agreement marketing Carl's Jr. Franchises to EB-5 visa investors, taking over 11 % of the revenues as royalties going into his own pocket, while Carl's Jr. (the franchisor) itself would only get 8.5%.

I do NOT get any money from any franchisor, so our advice on selecting a franchise is objective, impartial and based entirely on merits. I actually offer a written guarantee of freedom from fraud and conflict of interest, and also guarantee full disclosure of material facts, as not only is this good business practice, but by virtue of being a Licensed Real Estate and Business Broker, I'm required by law to do so. As I'm a Licensed Real Estate and Business Broker, I legally owe a fiduciary duty to my clients, which means that I ALWAYS have to place my clients interests ahead of my own.

Recently, DHS OIG also issued a report recommending significant restrictions on regional centers due to fraud, money laundering and other serious issues. USCIS had a joint conference call last year along with SEC, where they indicated significant concerns about securities law violations and fraud committed by regional centers against EB-5 visa investors. SEC also issued their own notice advising EB-5 visa investors to be cautious about dealing with regional centers due to fraud committed by regional centers and unscrupulous partnership promoters.

The fact is, most of the service providers in today's EB-5 services marketplace have aided, abetted, committed or conspired to commit conflict of interest, securities fraud, money laundering, securities law violations and other serious felonies. These range from Matt Gordon, David Tashroudian and Joe Sloboda's conflict of interest laden Direct Investment solutions offered to EB-5 visa investors, to the regional centers marketed by Brian Su and Kevin Jeffers, and the results are delayed processing, low returns, capital losses and denial of permanent green cards.

Why do regional centers offer such terrible results to EB-5 visa investors?

The answer is: Regional centers usually pay a large amount of money paid towards commissions, and also suffer from conflict of interest, where hiring and procurement of goods & services are done from related parties at inflated costs.

If a regional center promoter's first interest is stealing instead of serving their investors, then capital losses, low returns, delayed processing due to increased regulatory scrutiny, terrible exit strategies and high percentage of visa loss are inevitable.

Why do our EB-5 visa investors usually see high return on equity, capital gains, 100% approval of I-526 and I-829, quick approval and no fraud or conflict of interest?

EB-5 visa investors must remember an important fact: As licensed RE & Business Brokers, we actually owe a fiduciary duty to our clients. This means that the law requires us to always put our client's interests ahead of our own. EB-5 visa investors should ask if the service provider owes them a fiduciary duty, and strongly suspect the motives of those who don't owe them fiduciary duties.

This is why we recommend top ranked franchises instead of risky franchises such as Twistee Treat, Voodoo BBQ, Marcos Pizza, etc.
This is why we don't engage in conflict of interest or conceal material facts.
This is why we advise our clients in ways that help them get their green card (EB-5 visa) in a quick, safe and usually profitable manner, as a failure to do so will jeopardise our professional licenses.
This is why we confidently offer written guarantees of full fee refund in case our client is denied due to our fault as well as written guarantees of freedom from fraud, conflict of interest and full disclosure of material facts.

Our competitors usually don't owe a fiduciary duty to their clients and will usually refuse to offer the written guarantees that we confidently offer. We know that our team is quite competent, which is why we've no problems in offering a 100% fee refund guarantee to our clients in case our clients fail to get their EB-5 visa due to our fault. If our competitors were asked to offer the same fee refund guarantee, they usually refuse to do so as they aren't that confident about the level of their services.

Advantages of Genuine Direct Investment Business:

1. Faster processing and approval times.
2. Easy exit strategy.
3. Investors usually get a 15-35% annual Return on Equity.
4. Investors usually get Capital gains, whereas regional center investors usually get capital losses.
5. Our clients have a 100% approval rate of I-526 and I-829, which is a lot higher than regional centers or other partnerships.
6. Full control of business and capital, which helps prevent fraud, conflict of interest and losses.

For more information, please visit our website http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com or read our blog at http://eb5-expert.blogspot.com/

If you're an EB-5 visa investor, be sure to hire our team to help you. You'll be glad you did.

Yours truly
Mohammed Shaikh, MBA, CFE, Licensed Business & RE Broker (CA & FL)
Phone: +1 407 535 0616
Online: http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com

The mystery of the missing EB-5 visas. Where are the missing I-829 approvals for EB-5 visa investors since 2009?

There is an old saying that numbers don't lie. Today, we will take a quick look at figures that folks in the regional center industry don't want EB-5 visa investors to know as these numbers speak the truth about the untold stories of thousands of EB-5 visa investors who've lost their time, money and EB-5 visa by making the mistake of trusting the frauds in the regional center industry.

EB-5 visa investors should know that they only get a conditional green card for the first 2 years and this green card status expires if the EB-5 visa investor isn't able to prove within 2 years that the EB-5 visa investor (or the petitioning regional center) has created the 10 jobs. To remove the conditional status, the EB-5 visa investor has to file the form I-829, and only if the EB-5 visa investor is able to prove compliance with the conditions of the EB-5 visa program (investing the $500,000 and creating 10 jobs), is the investor granted unconditional Permanent Resident Status. If an EB-5 visa investor is unable to prove compliance with the conditions, the EB-5 visa investor loses their LPR status and becomes an illegal alien.

Now that we know the rules, we need to look at the figures which regional center marketers and operators don't disclose to EB-5 visa investors:

In 2011, the number of I-526 Approvals were 1571, and the corresponding number of I-829 approvals in FY 2013 were only 844. This means that 53.7% of the EB-5 visa investors from 2011 actually got LPR status in 2013, while the remaining 46.3% lost their time and money. BTW, EB-5 visa investors should also remember that of the 6517 EB-5 visa petitions (I-526) submitted in 2013, only 3677 were actually approved, while many were delayed, denied or simply withdrawn due to the heavy enforcement activity undertaken by USCIS, ICE, SEC, FBI and IRS.

In 2010, 1369 I-526 approvals were granted, but only 736 I-829 Approvals were seen in 2012, which means that only 53.7% of EB-5 visa investors actually got their permanent green card, while again 46.3% of the EB-5 visa investors actually lost their time, money and their EB-5 visa.

For full statistics on EB-5 visa related petitions and approvals, EB-5 visa investors can download the files from "Complete EB-5 visa related statistics since the Beginning".

The complete statistics for 2013 are as follows:

These figures clearly prove 1 fact: Approximately half of EB-5 visa investors don't get their permanent green cards. EB-5 visa investors should also remember that it is expected that DHS will officially initiate deportation proceedings for over 1500 EB-5 visa investors who were unable to meet the conditions of their conditional EB-5 visa due to strong action initiated by Senators Grassley, Cornyn, Cruz and McConnell. See Senator Grassley's letter to USCIS for further details at Grassley's letter to ICE and ICE memo recommending shutdown of all regional centers.

EB-5 visa investors should ask ALL EB-5 service providers who wish to provide advice or services to EB-5 visa investors, the following important questions and insist on getting the answers in writing in order to quickly weed out the frauds and crooks:

1) Will you be owing me a fiduciary duty if I signed up with you? If the answer is NO, then avoid them.

2) How many years of experience do you actually have with Direct Investments and how many EB-5 visa investors have you actually helped under the Direct Investment Category?

3) In the past, have you sold or marketed regional center securities to EB-5 visa investors? If the answer is YES, please avoid that individual, as it is quite likely that they have committed securities fraud and money laundering.

4) Are you willing to offer a written guarantee of full disclosure of material facts and freedom from conflict of interest?

5) Are you willing to offer a fee refund guarantee in case my case is denied due to your negligence or incompetence?

If a service provider or marketer will not owe you a fiduciary duty, then do NOT trust them at all. It is no secret that there is widespread conflict of interest and fraud going on against EB-5 visa investors, whether you see the example of Joe Sloboda marketing Voodoo BBQ without clearly disclosing his interests as a master franchisor and relationship with Fred Burgess, or the fact that EB-5 visa investors can get more established (and safer) fast food franchises to invest in, when compared to Voodoo BBQ, or the example of David Tashroudian, who wanted a wrap around agreement marketing Carl's Jr. Franchises to EB-5 visa investors, taking over 11 % of the revenues as royalties going into his own pocket, while Carl's Jr. (the franchisor) itself would only get 8.5%.

I do NOT get any money from any franchisor, so our advice on selecting a franchise is objective, impartial and based entirely on merits. I actually offer a written guarantee of freedom from fraud and conflict of interest, and also guarantee full disclosure of material facts, as not only is this good business practice, but by virtue of being a Licensed Real Estate and Business Broker, I'm required by law to do so. As I'm a Licensed Real Estate and Business Broker, I legally owe a fiduciary duty to my clients, which means that I ALWAYS have to place my clients interests ahead of my own.

Recently, DHS OIG also issued a report recommending significant restrictions on regional centers due to fraud, money laundering and other serious issues. USCIS had a joint conference call last year along with SEC, where they indicated significant concerns about securities law violations and fraud committed by regional centers against EB-5 visa investors. SEC also issued their own notice advising EB-5 visa investors to be cautious about dealing with regional centers due to fraud committed by regional centers and unscrupulous partnership promoters.

The fact is, most of the service providers in today's EB-5 services marketplace have aided, abetted, committed or conspired to commit conflict of interest, securities fraud, money laundering, securities law violations and other serious felonies. These range from Matt Gordon, David Tashroudian and Joe Sloboda's conflict of interest laden Direct Investment solutions offered to EB-5 visa investors, to the regional centers marketed by Brian Su and Kevin Jeffers, and the results are delayed processing, low returns, capital losses and denial of permanent green cards.

Why do regional centers offer such terrible results to EB-5 visa investors?

The answer is: Regional centers usually pay a large amount of money paid towards commissions, and also suffer from conflict of interest, where hiring and procurement of goods & services are done from related parties at inflated costs.

If a regional center promoter's first interest is stealing instead of serving their investors, then capital losses, low returns, delayed processing due to increased regulatory scrutiny, terrible exit strategies and high percentage of visa loss are inevitable.

Why do our EB-5 visa investors usually see high return on equity, capital gains, 100% approval of I-526 and I-829, quick approval and no fraud or conflict of interest?

EB-5 visa investors must remember an important fact: As licensed RE & Business Brokers, we actually owe a fiduciary duty to our clients. This means that the law requires us to always put our client's interests ahead of our own. EB-5 visa investors should ask if the service provider owes them a fiduciary duty, and strongly suspect the motives of those who don't owe them fiduciary duties.

This is why we recommend top ranked franchises instead of risky franchises such as Twistee Treat, Voodoo BBQ, Marcos Pizza, etc.
This is why we don't engage in conflict of interest or conceal material facts.
This is why we advise our clients in ways that help them get their green card (EB-5 visa) in a quick, safe and usually profitable manner, as a failure to do so will jeopardise our professional licenses.
This is why we confidently offer written guarantees of full fee refund in case our client is denied due to our fault as well as written guarantees of freedom from fraud, conflict of interest and full disclosure of material facts.

Our competitors usually don't owe a fiduciary duty to their clients and will usually refuse to offer the written guarantees that we confidently offer. We know that our team is quite competent, which is why we've no problems in offering a 100% fee refund guarantee to our clients in case our clients fail to get their EB-5 visa due to our fault. If our competitors were asked to offer the same fee refund guarantee, they usually refuse to do so as they aren't that confident about the level of their services.

Advantages of Genuine Direct Investment Business:

1. Faster processing and approval times.
2. Easy exit strategy.
3. Investors usually get a 15-35% annual Return on Equity.
4. Investors usually get Capital gains, whereas regional center investors usually get capital losses.
5. Our clients have a 100% approval rate of I-526 and I-829, which is a lot higher than regional centers or other partnerships.
6. Full control of business and capital, which helps prevent fraud, conflict of interest and losses.

For more information, please visit our website http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com or read our blog at http://eb5-expert.blogspot.com/

If you're an EB-5 visa investor, be sure to hire our team to help you. You'll be glad you did.

Yours truly
Mohammed Shaikh, MBA, CFE, Licensed Business & RE Broker (CA & FL)
Phone: +1 407 535 0616
Online: http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com

Republicans start the process to set up Harry Reid and Alejandro Mayorkas for their roles in helping regional centers commit fraud against EB-5 visa investors and laundering money.

As mentioned a few days ago, politicians seldom let go of opportunities to accomplish multiple objectives simultaneously. With Republican senators firmly intent on ensuring that Harry Reid and Hillary Clinton's political career is permanently hamstrung, and the EB-5 program has proved to be a gift that just keeps on giving. As it is, Barack Obama's half brother was involved in El Monte regional center that was shut down, and caused visa and money loss to several EB-5 visa investors. After that, we had Brian Su involved in South Dakota and GCFM's regional center (with Terry McAuliffe & Bill Clinton involved too) and now we have Harry Reid being set up as payback for removing the filibuster.

The important question is, "Did Harry Reid remove the filibuster to benefit his son by putting in place a pliant and corrupt official?" This is a question for which answers are being actively sought in D.C., with an ethics complaint already filed against Reid (see http://watchdog.org/124635/reid-visa-investor/).

Recently, DHS OIG also issued a report recommending significant restrictions on regional centers due to fraud, money laundering and other serious issues. USCIS had a joint conference call last year along with SEC, where they indicated significant concerns about securities law violations and fraud committed by regional centers against EB-5 visa investors. SEC also issued their own notice advising EB-5 visa investors to be cautious about dealing with regional centers due to fraud committed by regional centers and unscrupulous partnership promoters. ICE wants to shut down ALL regional centers due to fraud, conflict of interest and money laundering being found pretty much everywhere in regional centers.

The fact is, most of the service providers in today's EB-5 services marketplace have aided, abetted, committed or conspired to commit conflict of interest, securities fraud, money laundering, securities law violations and other serious felonies. These range from Matt Gordon, David Tashroudian and Joe Sloboda's conflict of interest laden Direct Investment solutions offered to EB-5 visa investors, to the regional centers marketed by Brian Su and Kevin Jeffers, and the results are delayed processing, low returns, capital losses and denial of permanent green cards.

Why do regional centers offer such terrible results to EB-5 visa investors?

The answer is: Regional centers usually pay a large amount of money paid towards commissions, and also suffer from conflict of interest, where hiring and procurement of goods & services are done from related parties at inflated costs.

If a regional center promoter's first interest is stealing instead of serving their investors, then capital losses, low returns, delayed processing due to increased regulatory scrutiny, terrible exit strategies and high percentage of visa loss are inevitable.

Why do our EB-5 visa investors usually see high return on equity, capital gains, 100% approval of I-526 and I-829, quick approval and no fraud or conflict of interest?

EB-5 visa investors must remember an important fact: As licensed RE & Business Brokers, we actually owe a fiduciary duty to our clients. This means that the law requires us to always put our client's interests ahead of our own. EB-5 visa investors should ask if the service provider owes them a fiduciary duty, and strongly suspect the motives of those who don't owe them fiduciary duties.

This is why we recommend top ranked franchises instead of risky franchises such as Twistee Treat, Voodoo BBQ, Marcos Pizza, etc.
This is why we don't engage in conflict of interest or conceal material facts.
This is why we advise our clients in ways that help them get their green card (EB-5 visa) in a quick, safe and usually profitable manner, as a failure to do so will jeopardise our professional licenses.
This is why we confidently offer written guarantees of full fee refund in case our client is denied due to our fault as well as written guarantees of freedom from fraud, conflict of interest and full disclosure of material facts.

Our competitors usually don't owe a fiduciary duty to their clients and will usually refuse to offer the written guarantees that we confidently offer. We know that our team is quite competent, which is why we've no problems in offering a 100% fee refund guarantee to our clients in case our clients fail to get their EB-5 visa due to our fault. If our competitors were asked to offer the same fee refund guarantee, they usually refuse to do so as they aren't that confident about the level of their services.

Advantages of Genuine Direct Investment Business:

1. Faster processing and approval times.
2. Easy exit strategy.
3. Investors usually get a 15-35% annual Return on Equity.
4. Investors usually get Capital gains, whereas regional center investors usually get capital losses.
5. Our clients have a 100% approval rate of I-526 and I-829, which is a lot higher than regional centers or other partnerships.
6. Full control of business and capital, which helps prevent fraud, conflict of interest and losses.

For more information, please visit our website http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com or read our blog at http://eb5-expert.blogspot.com/

If you're an EB-5 visa investor, be sure to hire our team to help you. You'll be glad you did.

Yours truly
Mohammed Shaikh, MBA, CFE, Licensed Business & RE Broker (CA & FL)
Phone: +1 407 535 0616
Online: http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com

Should an EB-5 visa investor's funds be used to enrich the EB-5 visa investor or should they be used to enrich someone with a not so great business?

I read a press release that seems to have been jointly put out by 4 individuals, who I do not consider very trustworthy in the EB-5 services marketplace: Bernard "Bernie" Wolfsdorf, Brian " the BS'er" Su, Michael Homeier and Kevin Wright. Of these, I can honestly say that I would not trust Brian Su or Bernie Wolfsdorf even 1 bit, and now that the regional center spigot has dried up, it seems that these guys want to start ripping off the EB-5 visa investors who wish to choose Direct Investments. The word sleazy comes to mind when I think of at least 2 of these gentlemen.

Mr. Wolfsdorf seems to think that EB-5 visa should be used by third rate businessmen as a source of cheap venture capital or to get cheap financing at the expense of the EB-5 visa investor (see link http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/01/prweb11469474.htm ). This basically helps continue the legacy regional center model, where the EB-5 visa investor gets very low or no returns on their investment and the only party benefiting from the transaction is a US business that is so bad that they can't raise funds from banks or venture capitalists.

Question is, why should EB-5 visa investors let others get rich off their money? Aren't EB-5 visa investors entitled to earn off their money? Shouldn't EB-5 visa investors have the right to get their green cards quickly and safely and earn a decent profit along the way?

I personally believe that EB-5 visa investors deserve to earn a decent return on their investment and also get their green card under EB-5 visa category quickly and safely.

In the US, venture capitalists and banks are always ready to fund viable businesses with decent business plans, while they certainly aren't ready to fund businesses with terrible business plans. Usually, it is these lackluster businesses that try to get EB-5 visa investor's funds through regional centers.

Reading the article, it seems that Mr. Wolfsdorf thinks that "It (EB-5 visa program) connects wealthy overseas investors who want a green card with regional business owners who need money to grow and expand". Sorry to burst your bubble sir, but the fact is, the Direct Investment category is used to help EB-5 visa investors get their green card quickly, safely and (usually) profitably. There is no place in the EB-5 visa program for regional centers or for that matter, any business where there is a lack of accountability, transparency and profitability. Mr. Wolfsdorf seems to be shy about mentioning the fact that for a very long time, he helped and advised regional centers that ILLEGALLY offered and sold securities in a fraudulent manner to EB-5 visa investors, most of whom failed to get their permanent green cards. Right now, he seems to be desperate for business, which is why, like the proverbial rat, he seems to be deserting the sinking ship of regional centers and heading for the greener pastures of Direct Investment.

In the same article, the notorious Brian Su states,“More investors are finally realizing that there is opportunity with direct investment." Well Mr. Su, why don't you tell people about your affiliation with scandal ridden regional centers such as GCFM (of GreenTech fame) and South Dakota Regional Center, to name just 2 of many? Why doesn't Mr. Brian Su tell EB-5 visa investors about the hundred plus EB-5 visa investors who not only lost all or part of their capital by investing in the fraudulent regional centers that Mr. Su helped market, but also failed to get their permanent green card. Mr. Su says, “They’re not looking for tremendous returns,” Su said. “They’re just looking for legal residency through the EB5 program.” Well, MY EB-5 visa investors are not even interested in mediocre returns, and I personally refuse to even contemplate advising them to opt for businesses where they don't have a realistic chance to earn 10% annually under managed Direct Investment Business or over 20% annually in an EB-5 visa investor managed business.

EB-5 visa investors should ask the above named individuals, as well as any other EB-5 service provider who wishes to provide Direct Investment related advice or services, the following important questions and insist on getting the answers in writing in order to quickly weed out the frauds and crooks:

1) Will you be owing me a fiduciary duty if I signed up with you? If the answer is NO, then avoid them.

2) How many years of experience do you actually have with Direct Investments and how many EB-5 visa investors have you actually helped under the Direct Investment Category?

3) In the past, have you sold or marketed regional center securities to EB-5 visa investors? If the answer is YES, please avoid that individual, as it is quite likely that they have committed securities fraud and money laundering.

4) Are you willing to offer a written guarantee of full disclosure of material facts and freedom from conflict of interest?

5) Are you willing to offer a fee refund guarantee in case my case is denied due to your negligence or incompetence?

If a service provider or marketer will not owe you a fiduciary duty, then do NOT trust them at all. It is no secret that there is widespread conflict of interest and fraud going on against EB-5 visa investors, whether you see the example of Joe Sloboda marketing Voodoo BBQ without clearly disclosing his interests as a master franchisor and relationship with Fred Burgess, or the fact that EB-5 visa investors can get more established (and safer) fast food franchises to invest in, when compared to Voodoo BBQ, or the example of David Tashroudian, who wanted a wrap around agreement marketing Carl's Jr. Franchises to EB-5 visa investors, taking over 11 % of the revenues as royalties going into his own pocket, while Carl's Jr. (the franchisor) itself would only 8.5%.

I do NOT get any money from any franchisor, so our advice on selecting a franchise is objective, impartial and based entirely on merits. I actually offer a written guarantee of freedom from fraud and conflict of interest, and also guarantee full disclosure of material facts, as not only is this good business practice, but by virtue of being a Licensed Real Estate and Business Broker, I'm required by law to do so. As I'm a Licensed Real Estate and Business Broker, I legally owe a fiduciary duty to my clients, which means that I ALWAYS have to place my clients interests ahead of my own.

Recently, DHS OIG also issued a report recommending significant restrictions on regional centers due to fraud, money laundering and other serious issues. USCIS had a joint conference call last year along with SEC, where they indicated significant concerns about securities law violations and fraud committed by regional centers against EB-5 visa investors. SEC also issued their own notice advising EB-5 visa investors to be cautious about dealing with regional centers due to fraud committed by regional centers and unscrupulous partnership promoters.

The fact is, most of the service providers in today's EB-5 services marketplace have aided, abetted, committed or conspired to commit conflict of interest, securities fraud, money laundering, securities law violations and other serious felonies. These range from Matt Gordon, David Tashroudian and Joe Sloboda's conflict of interest laden Direct Investment solutions offered to EB-5 visa investors, to the regional centers marketed by Brian Su and Kevin Jeffers, and the results are delayed processing, low returns, capital losses and denial of permanent green cards.

Why do regional centers offer such terrible results to EB-5 visa investors?

The answer is: Regional centers usually pay a large amount of money paid towards commissions, and also suffer from conflict of interest, where hiring and procurement of goods & services are done from related parties at inflated costs.

If a regional center promoter's first interest is stealing instead of serving their investors, then capital losses, low returns, delayed processing due to increased regulatory scrutiny, terrible exit strategies and high percentage of visa loss are inevitable.

Why do our EB-5 visa investors usually see high return on equity, capital gains, 100% approval of I-526 and I-829, quick approval and no fraud or conflict of interest?

EB-5 visa investors must remember an important fact: As licensed RE & Business Brokers, we actually owe a fiduciary duty to our clients. This means that the law requires us to always put our client's interests ahead of our own. EB-5 visa investors should ask if the service provider owes them a fiduciary duty, and strongly suspect the motives of those who don't owe them fiduciary duties.

This is why we recommend top ranked franchises instead of risky franchises such as Twistee Treat, Voodoo BBQ, Marcos Pizza, etc.
This is why we don't engage in conflict of interest or conceal material facts.
This is why we advise our clients in ways that help them get their green card (EB-5 visa) in a quick, safe and usually profitable manner, as a failure to do so will jeopardise our professional licenses.
This is why we confidently offer written guarantees of full fee refund in case our client is denied due to our fault as well as written guarantees of freedom from fraud, conflict of interest and full disclosure of material facts.

Our competitors usually don't owe a fiduciary duty to their clients and will usually refuse to offer the written guarantees that we confidently offer. We know that our team is quite competent, which is why we've no problems in offering a 100% fee refund guarantee to our clients in case our clients fail to get their EB-5 visa due to our fault. If our competitors were asked to offer the same fee refund guarantee, they usually refuse to do so as they aren't that confident about the level of their services.

Advantages of Genuine Direct Investment Business:

1. Faster processing and approval times.
2. Easy exit strategy.
3. Investors usually get a 15-35% annual Return on Equity.
4. Investors usually get Capital gains, whereas regional center investors usually get capital losses.
5. Our clients have a 100% approval rate of I-526 and I-829, which is a lot higher than regional centers or other partnerships.
6. Full control of business and capital, which helps prevent fraud, conflict of interest and losses.

For more information, please visit our website http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com or read our blog at http://eb5-expert.blogspot.com/

If you're an EB-5 visa investor, be sure to hire our team to help you. You'll be glad you did.

Yours truly
Mohammed Shaikh, MBA, CFE, Licensed Business & RE Broker (CA & FL)
Phone: +1 407 535 0616
Online: http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com

Why is Florida the safest choice for EB-5 visa investors opting for Direct Investment Business? How can EB-5 visa investors avoid conflict of interest?

Thanks to the multi-agency crackdown on the fraud perpetrated by regional centers on EB-5 visa investors, EB-5 visa investors have themselves come to realise that the only safe option for them to get an EB-5 visa is through Genuine Direct Investment Business. Even in Direct Investment Businesses, EB-5 visa holders need to be wary of the conflict of interest that individuals such as Matt Gordon and Nenad Radu (of E3 Investment Group) or Joe Sloboda (of Florida Restaurant Franchise Group) engage in. E3 investment group doesn't disclose that their terms are highly unfavourable to investors and Mr. Sloboda doesn't seem to disclose that he actually has a stake as the master franchisor for Voodoo BBQ.

We don't have any stakes or financial interests in any of the franchises we advise our clients to select, in order to ensure that our advice is entirely objective, neutral and based solely on a particular franchise's merits. This is why we only advise our EB-5 visa investor clients to select safe franchises such as 5 Guys, KFC / Taco Bell, PotBelly Sandwiches, etc. and advise them to avoid risky franchises such as Twistee Treats, Voodoo BBQ, Marcos Pizza, etc.

We advise our clients to make Florida their first pick due to the following reasons:

1) Florida does not have personal state income tax, which is usually a saving of about 8.5% on gross income.

2) The cost of living, cost of doing business, cost of labour, cost of rent, cost of insurance and even incorporation fees are significantly lower, and typically this adds an advantage of about 9% to 14% annually to the bottom line.

3) Florida has a thriving trade, education and tourism based economy, and Orlando is the number one tourist destination in the world.

4) It has excellent weather, and we’re usually the only state in the US that doesn’t see snow or hail, which makes life a lot more bearable for people from the sub-continent and keeps insurance premiums low.

5) Asian clients also find that FL has a diverse population with a huge Asian and Latin American community, with vibrant communities of Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thais, Cubans, Venezuelans, Brazilians and Argentinians calling Florida home.

6) Florida is USA's gateway to trade with Latin America, with Miami and Jacksonville being among the busiest ports in the nation. Over 40% of all of America's exports to Latin and South America pass through Florida.

7) It is easy to find TEA's in great locations such as Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Florida Keys, Lake Okeechobee (arguably the best fishing in the South), etc.

Advantages of Genuine Direct Investment Business started with our team's guidance:

1. Faster processing and approval times.
2. Easy exit strategy.
3. Investors usually get a 15% to 35% annual Return on Equity.
4. Investors usually get Capital gains, whereas regional center investors usually get capital losses.
5. Our clients have a 100% approval rate of I-526 and I-829, while those who choose regional centers or other partnerships don't.
6. Our clients have very little risk as we conduct extensive due diligence and work hard to prevent fraud and conflict of interest, whereas regional centers and partnerships are overrun with fraud and conflict of interest.
7. Full control of business and capital, which helps prevent fraud, conflict of interest and losses.

For more information, please visit our website http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com

If you're an EB-5 visa investor, be sure to hire our team to help you. You'll be glad you did.

Mohammed Shaikh, MBA, CFE, Licensed RE & Business Broker (CA & FL)
Online: http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com
Skype: Mohammed.Shaikh

Can there be smoke without fire? Why are USCIS, SEC, DHS OIG & US ICE cracking down on regional centers? What is the first question EB-5 visa investors should ask?

Today, we see a lot of fraud being perpetrated against EB-5 visa investors. There are many phony "due diligence experts" who claimed to be experts at doing due diligence studies of regional centers, when the fact is, their "due diligence" was actually quite negligent at the very least. There are many nicely marketed regional centers too that not only commit securities fraud and launder money, but also violate securities laws too. The fact is, pretty much every single regional center has violated securities laws, laundered money and committed fraud (including securities fraud). This is why, ICE (USA Government's largest investigative agency), says that all Regional centers should be shut down! (see http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com/EB5_ICE_fraud_memo.pdf)


The first question an EB-5 visa investor should ask a prospective service provider or marketer of partnerships / regional centers / Direct Investments is: Please define your role and let me know whether you would owe ME (the EB-5 visa investor) a fiduciary duty. 

Other important questions that EB-5 visa investors need to ask everyone who offers them EB-5 visa services:

Are you willing to offer a written guarantee of freedom from fraud and conflict of interest?
Are you willing to offer a written guarantee of fee refund in case I don't get an EB-5 visa due to your fault?
Are you willing to offer a written guarantee of full compliance with laws governing your conduct in the US and abroad?

If someone says no to any of the above questions, avoid them like the plague.

If a service provider or marketer will not owe you a fiduciary duty, then do NOT trust them at all. It is no secret that there is widespread conflict of interest and fraud going on against EB-5 visa investors, whether you see the example of Joe Sloboda marketing Voodoo BBQ without clearly disclosing his interests as a master franchisor and relationship with Fred Burgess, or the fact that EB-5 visa investors can get more established (and safer) fast food franchises to invest in, when compared to Voodoo BBQ, or the example of David Tashroudian, who wanted a wrap around agreement marketing Carl's Jr. Franchises to EB-5 visa investors, taking over 11 % of the revenues as royalties going into his own pocket, while Carl's Jr. (the franchisor) itself would only 8.5%.

I do NOT get any money from any franchisor, so our advice on selecting a franchise is objective, impartial and based entirely on merits. I actually offer a written guarantee of freedom from fraud and conflict of interest, and also guarantee full disclosure of material facts, as not only is this good business practice, but by virtue of being a Licensed Real Estate and Business Broker, I'm required by law to do so. As I'm a Licensed Real Estate and Business Broker, I legally owe a fiduciary duty to my clients, which means that I ALWAYS have to place my clients interests ahead of my own.

Recently, DHS OIG also issued a report recommending significant restrictions on regional centers due to fraud, money laundering and other serious issues. USCIS had a joint conference call last year along with SEC, where they indicated significant concerns about securities law violations and fraud committed by regional centers against EB-5 visa investors. SEC also issued their own notice advising EB-5 visa investors to be cautious about dealing with regional centers due to fraud committed by regional centers and unscrupulous partnership promoters.

The fact is, most of the service providers in today's EB-5 services marketplace have aided, abetted, committed or conspired to commit conflict of interest, securities fraud, money laundering, securities law violations and other serious felonies. These range from Matt Gordon, David Tashroudian and Joe Sloboda's conflict of interest laden Direct Investment solutions offered to EB-5 visa investors, to the regional centers marketed by Brian Su and Kevin Jeffers, and the results are delayed processing, low returns, capital losses and denial of permanent green cards.

Why do regional centers offer such terrible results to EB-5 visa investors?

The answer is: Regional centers usually pay a large amount of money paid towards commissions, and also suffer from conflict of interest, where hiring and procurement of goods & services are done from related parties at inflated costs.

If a regional center promoter's first interest is stealing instead of serving their investors, then capital losses, low returns, delayed processing due to increased regulatory scrutiny, terrible exit strategies and high percentage of visa loss are inevitable.

Why do our EB-5 visa investors usually see high return on equity, capital gains, 100% approval of I-526 and I-829, quick approval and no fraud or conflict of interest?

EB-5 visa investors must remember an important fact: As licensed RE & Business Brokers, we actually owe a fiduciary duty to our clients. This means that the law requires us to always put our client's interests ahead of our own. EB-5 visa investors should ask if the service provider owes them a fiduciary duty, and strongly suspect the motives of those who don't owe them fiduciary duties.

This is why we recommend top ranked franchises instead of risky franchises such as Twistee Treat, Voodoo BBQ, Marcos Pizza, etc.
This is why we don't engage in conflict of interest or conceal material facts.
This is why we advise our clients in ways that help them get their green card (EB-5 visa) in a quick, safe and usually profitable manner, as a failure to do so will jeopardise our professional licenses.
This is why we confidently offer written guarantees of full fee refund in case our client is denied due to our fault as well as written guarantees of freedom from fraud, conflict of interest and full disclosure of material facts.

Our competitors usually don't owe a fiduciary duty to their clients and will usually refuse to offer the written guarantees that we confidently offer. We know that our team is quite competent, which is why we've no problems in offering a 100% fee refund guarantee to our clients in case our clients fail to get their EB-5 visa due to our fault. If our competitors were asked to offer the same fee refund guarantee, they usually refuse to do so as they aren't that confident about the level of their services.

Advantages of Genuine Direct Investment Business:

1. Faster processing and approval times.
2. Easy exit strategy.
3. Investors usually get a 15-35% annual Return on Equity.
4. Investors usually get Capital gains, whereas regional center investors usually get capital losses.
5. Our clients have a 100% approval rate of I-526 and I-829, which is a lot higher than regional centers or other partnerships.
6. Full control of business and capital, which helps prevent fraud, conflict of interest and losses.

For more information, please visit our website http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com or read our blog at http://eb5-expert.blogspot.com/

If you're an EB-5 visa investor, be sure to hire our team to help you. You'll be glad you did.

Yours truly
Mohammed Shaikh, MBA, CFE, Licensed Business & RE Broker (CA & FL)
Online: http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com

Why are so many regional centers facing investigation for fraud? Why are Direct Investment Businesses getting I-526 (EB-5 visa) approvals in less than half the time taken for

I read a news article at http://cis.org/north/2-different-eb-5-cases-which-asians-apparently-conned-other-asians and another http://www.law360.com/articles/494248/us-should-probe-forest-city-s-eb-5-visa-use-watchdog-says, which discusses how more regional centers face Congressional, DHS and SEC investigations for fraud.

Just recently, DHS OIG, US SEC and USCIS issued recommendations to make massive changes to the regional centers by putting more restrictions on them due to rampant fraud, while US ICE actually recommended shutting down regional centers altogether due to fraud in a confidential memo made public by Senator Grassley (see link http://www.grassley.senate.gov/judiciary/upload/EB-5-12-12-13-ICE-memo-security-vulnerabilities.pdf). The DHS OIG report recommended procedural safeguards in response to the rampant fraud committed by regional centers, due to which only approximately 40% of the EB-5 visa investors actually have a chance of getting their permanent green card, and of the over 400 regional centers in existence, not even 1 regional center's CEO, CFO and marketing agents are willing to offer written guarantees of freedom from fraud and conflict of interest. This goes to show that it is not just one but multiple government agencies that are requesting that all regional centers either be shut down or be placed under extensive oversight in order to prevent fraud that regional centers are famous for.

EB-5 visa investors should also avoid dealing with shady individuals such as Brian Su, Joe Sloboda, Fred Burgess, Kevin Jeffers, etc. who used to help illegally market and sell regional center securities in a fraudulent manner, and are are now marketing direct investments without disclosing material facts or conflict of interest.

EB-5 visa investors should remember that IT IS VERY HARD TO EARN MONEY AND VERY EASY TO BURN MONEY. A Genuine Direct Investment Business is the SAFEST, FASTEST and usually most PROFITABLE way to get an EB-5 visa.

A Genuine Direct Investment Business has the following characteristics:

It is 100% owned and controlled by the investor. This eliminates conflict of interest and significantly reduces the possibility of fraud. Even ICE, USA's biggest investigative agency says that all Regional centers usually commit fraud, conflict of interest and violations of securities laws (see ICE recommends shutting down ALL regional centers.)

It is in either a premium franchise such as Five Guys / KFC / Hertz etc. or in a solid non-franchise business such as banquet hall, used car lots, etc. If the business is a risky franchise such as Voodoo BBQ, Marcos Pizza, etc., it is unsafe. A franchise is suitable for investment only if it is on a major bank's list of approved franchises AND features in a list of top performing franchises (see http://www.slideshare.net/MohammedShaikh4/2012-top200 ) AND is recommended by an experienced business broker who owes a fiduciary duty to the EB-5 visa investor. Most franchises are unsuitable for EB-5 visa investors due to their inability to PROFITABLY generate 10 jobs. 

It is easily saleable in the open market. For example, it is easy to quickly sell off a Five Guys or KFC Franchise in the open market, while there is no market for partnership or regional center securities, risky franchises such as Marcos Pizza / Voodoo BBQ / Twistee Treat, etc. due to which EB-5 visa investors are stuck for 5-9 years and have to PAY to sell their share. 

What are the advantages of choosing a Genuine Direct Investment Business to get the EB-5 visa?

The EB-5 visa investor gets FULL control and ownership of their business and corporate funds. This helps  eliminate conflict of interest and fraud, and results in higher earnings and capital gains.

The EB-5 visa investor usually earns 20-35% Returns annually, while regional centers offer measly returns of 1% and some partnerships are now known to offer returns of up to 5%, but have capital losses on exit.

The EB-5 visa investor usually earns solid capital gains of over 30% after 3 years, while those who invest in risky franchises, partnerships and regional centers usually end up with capital losses.

The EB-5 visa investor has an easy exit strategy and can sell their business (usually for a profit) as soon as they get their permanent green card (I-829 approval),  while risky franchises, partnerships and regional centers lock in funds for 5-9 years.

It takes about half the time to get the I-526 approval (temporary green card) using a Genuine Direct Investment Business in comparison to regional centers.

Genuine Direct investment Businesses are usually able to help the EB-5 visa investor get their I-829 approved, whereas less than half of the EB-5 visa investors who chose regional centers, partnerships and risky franchises were able to get their I-829 approved.

There is usually no conflict of interest and fraud seen in a Genuine Direct Investment Business, whereas there is usually extensive conflict of interest and fraud to be found in regional centers, partnerships and risky franchises. An excellent example is how Joe Sloboda and Fred Burgess sold Voodoo BBQ franchises to EB-5 visa investors without disclosing the fact that they were the master franchisors and earned money on the back end.

EB-5 visa investors should avoid dealing with entities who refuse to guarantee the following:

1.    Full and ongoing disclosure of all material information.

2.    Freedom from fraud and conflict of interest.

3.    Full refund of your fees in case you’re rejected by USCIS.

If you're an EB-5 visa investor interested in getting their EB-5 visa quickly, please contact us. You'll be really glad that you did.

Yours truly,

Mohammed Shaikh, Licensed RE and Business Broker (CA & FL)

Phone: +1 407 535 0616  

Online: http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com   

Skype: Mohammed.Shaikh

Should EB-5 visa investors trust those who have a documented history of cheating EB-5 visa investors?

There is an old saying: Cheat me once, shame on you, cheat me twice, shame on me.

Nowadays, we see a lot of so-called EB-5 visa "practitioners" still peddling regional centers and also offering quite dubious Direct Investment businesses to EB-5 visa investors.

What these so-called EB-5 "practitioners" don't disclose are important facts such as:

1. Their actual experience, i.e. how many EB-5 visa investor clients they had, how many were approved for I-526 and how many of them went on to get their I-529. 
2. The USCIS itself recommends massive changes to the regional center programs due to fraud (see link http://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/immigration/b/outsidenews/archive/2013/12/26/eb-5-audit-report-dhs-oig-gives-uscis-low-marks.aspx as well as the actual DHS OIG memo expressing concerns about the fraud committed by regional centers at http://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2014/OIG_14-19_Dec13.pdf ), while US ICE recommends shutting down ALL regional centers due to fraud (see details at http://www.grassley.senate.gov/judiciary/upload/EB-5-12-12-13-ICE-memo-security-vulnerabilities.pdf ). This shows that not one but two major US Government agencies of the DHS are worried about the fraud committed by regional centers. We should also remember that even the SEC issued their own memo about fraud committed in the EB-5 visa program by regional centers illegally and fraudulently offering securities (see link at http://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/investor-alert-investment-scams-exploit-immigrant-investor-program )When at least 3 US government agencies themselves are warning about fraud being committed by regional centers in the EB-5 visa program, it is to protect EB-5 visa investors, and EB-5 visa investors should remember that the ONLY safe and quick way to get EB-5 visas are Genuine Direct Investment Businesses.
3. The fact that those who apply for EB-5 visa through regional centers have to usually wait for 16-22 months, while those who apply for EB-5 visa through Genuine Direct Investment Business have to usually wait for only 4-7 months to get their EB-5 visa.
4. The fact that the exit strategy in regional centers is terrible while the exit strategy in Genuine Direct Investment Businesses is very easy and straightforward.
5. Capital gains are common in Genuine Direct Investment Businesses and Capital Losses are very common in regional centers and other Direct Partnerships.
6. Regional Centers and Direct Partnerships usually illegally offer and sell securities.
7. Genuine Direct Investment Businesses usually offer decent operating income that is usually sufficient to help an EB-5 visa investor support their spouse and kids quite comfortably. In regional centers and shady partnerships, it is hard to even get a 1% annual return, which is in mst cases inadequate to support an EB-5 visa investor's family.

 EB-5 visa investors need to remember that Regional Centers are the worst choice due to the fact that they usually engage in securities fraud, money laundering, conflict of interest and securities law violations, and even the ICE says (see link http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com/EB5_ICE_fraud_memo.pdf ) that all regional centers need to be shut down as NOTHING can be done to eliminate the fraud that pervades through regional centers.

IT IS VERY HARD TO EARN MONEY AND VERY EASY TO BURN MONEY. A Genuine Direct Investment Business is the SAFEST, FASTEST and usually most PROFITABLE way to get an EB-5 visa. 

 

A Genuine Direct Investment Business has the following characteristics:

It is 100% owned and controlled by the investor. This eliminates conflict of interest and significantly reduces the possibility of fraud. Even ICE, USA's biggest investigative agency says that all Regional centers usually commit fraud, conflict of interest and violations of securities laws (see ICE recommends shutting down ALL regional centers.)

 

It is in either a premium franchise such as Five Guys / KFC / Hertz etc. or in a solid non-franchise business such as banquet hall, used car lots, etc. If the business is a risky franchise such as Voodoo BBQ, Marcos Pizza, etc., it is unsafe. A franchise is suitable for investment only if it is on a major bank's list of approved franchises AND features in a list of top performing franchises (see http://www.slideshare.net/MohammedShaikh4/2012-top200 ) AND is recommended by an experienced business broker who owes a fiduciary duty to the EB-5 visa investor. Most franchises are unsuitable for EB-5 visa investors due to their inability to PROFITABLY generate 10 jobs. 

 

It is easily saleable in the open market. For example, it is easy to quickly sell off a Five Guys or KFC Franchise in the open market, while there is no market for partnership or regional center securities, risky franchises such as Marcos Pizza / Voodoo BBQ / Twistee Treat, etc. due to which EB-5 visa investors are stuck for 5-9 years and have to PAY to sell their share. 

 

What are the advantages of choosing a Genuine Direct Investment Business to get the EB-5 visa?

The EB-5 visa investor gets FULL control and ownership of their business and corporate funds. This helps  eliminate conflict of interest and fraud, and results in higher earnings and capital gains.

 

The EB-5 visa investor usually earns 20-35% Returns annually, while regional centers offer measly returns of 1% and some partnerships are now known to offer returns of up to 5%, but have capital losses on exit.

 

The EB-5 visa investor usually earns solid capital gains of over 30% after 3 years, while those who invest in risky franchises, partnerships and regional centers usually end up with capital losses.

 

The EB-5 visa investor has an easy exit strategy and can sell their business (usually for a profit) as soon as they get their permanent green card (I-829 approval),  while risky franchises, partnerships and regional centers lock in funds for 5-9 years.

 

It takes about half the time to get the I-526 approval (temporary green card) using a Genuine Direct Investment Business in comparison to regional centers.

 

Genuine Direct investment Businesses are usually able to help the EB-5 visa investor get their I-829 approved, whereas less than half of the EB-5 visa investors who chose regional centers, partnerships and risky franchises were able to get their I-829 approved.

 

There is usually no conflict of interest and fraud seen in a Genuine Direct Investment Business, whereas there is usually extensive conflict of interest and fraud to be found in regional centers, partnerships and risky franchises. An excellent example is how Joe Sloboda and Fred Burgess sold Voodoo BBQ franchises to EB-5 visa investors without disclosing the fact that they were the master franchisors and earned money on the back end.

 

EB-5 visa investors should avoid those who refuse to guarantee the following:

1.    Full and ongoing disclosure of all material information.

2.    Freedom from fraud and conflict of interest.

3.    Full refund of your fees in case you’re rejected by USCIS.

 

If you're an EB-5 visa investor interested in getting their EB-5 visa quickly, please contact us. You'll be really glad that you did.

 

Yours truly,

Mohammed Shaikh, Licensed RE and Business Broker (CA & FL)

Phone: +1 407 535 0616 Online: http://www.smartbusinessbroker.com  Skype: Mohammed.Shaikh