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Settlement reached with bank in Vermont ski area fraud case

By The Associated Press - | May 1, 2021

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The federal receiver overseeing two Vermont ski resorts after their owner was accused of massive fraud involving foreign investors’ money has reached a proposed $1.75 million settlement with People’s United Bank, which was accused of misappropriating investor funds.

A final approval hearing is scheduled for July 1, according to an order from U.S. District Court in Florida on Wednesday.

The settlement is between a group of investors that filed a complaint in federal court, the receiver and the bank. It settles all claims that were and could have been asserted against the bank by the investors and receiver, according to a written notice from receiver Michael Goldberg this week.

Miami businessman Ariel Quiros, the former owner of Jay Peak and Burke Mountain ski resorts in northern Vermont, was accused in a multimillion-dollar fraud case. He pleaded guilty over a failed plan to build a biotechnology plant using tens of millions of dollars in foreign investors’ money.

He had changed his plea to guilty on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and the concealment of material information. Nine other charges were dropped. Former Jay Peak president Bill Stenger has pleaded not guilty.