GOP Senator Calls for Probe of Kushner Family Visa Offer to Rich Chinese Investors

It appears that presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner’s problems might get even worse in coming days. Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, has called for an investigation into potentially fraudulent claims by two Chinese companies affiliated with a Kushner family property development, according to a statement from the senator’s office.

Grassley asked the Department of Homeland Security and the Securities and Exchange Commission to review claims made by companies affiliated with One Journal Square in Jersey City, NJ.

Grassley wrote:

I am writing to request a review of potentially fraudulent statements and misrepresentations by Qiaowai Group, a Chinese company, and a second private company that calls itself the “U.S. Immigration Fund.” Both are involved in the development of One Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey, promoting the project to potential investors who seek to immigrate to the U.S. through the EB-5 investor visa program. The companies’ exact roles in the development are not entirely clear from public records, but both appear to be acting as a broker-dealer or agent for developers.

As I’m sure you are aware, recent press reports indicate that Qiaowai has touted its relationship with the current administration as a guarantee that potential EB-5 investors will receive lawful permanent residence in return for a no-risk investment in One Journal Square. “They said the president would make sure it came through” according to one investor. “They said there was no chance it could fail.” One source detailed several such representations, all of which were deleted from Qiaowai’s web site after a Reuters’ investigation.

As Reuters notes, Jared Kushner sold his stake in Kushner Companies to a family trust earlier this year. But earlier this month, his sister Nicole touted the company’s unparalleled access to the Trump White House, where Jared Kushner serves in a multitude of roles including as an adviser on China.

At Beijing’s Ritz-Carlton on May 6, Nicole Kushner Meyer urged wealthy Chinese investors in attendance to seek a “golden visa” before immigration rules change in the U.S. A brochure for that event stated, “Invest $500,000 and immigrate to the United States,” The Washington Post reported at the time.

Grassley’s letter continued:

Such guarantees are problematic for several reasons, and the SEC and USCIS have coordinated to halt similar cases of investment fraud in the past. It is a fundamental rule of the EB-5 program that an applicant’s investment must remain “at risk” up to the end of the alien’s conditional permanent resident status, and a “guaranteed” investment fails this basic EB-5 test; if Qiaowai is in fact guaranteeing the safety of the investment principal, all related EB-5 petitions should be rejected by USCIS…Further, by guaranteeing green cards and assuring that funds are “safe,” Qiaowai appears to be in violation of laws governing the offer and sale of securities, such as antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws.

The Immigration Fund, based in Jupiter, FL, contracted with Qiaowai to seek investors for projects including One Journal Square through the EB-5 program, the New York Post reported.