EB-5

By digitalmedia

  • Joop Bollen incorporated SDRC Inc.

  • Bollen signed a document that gave SDRC management responsibility of South Dakota's EB-5 regional center.

  • Bollen signed a consulting contract for SDRC with the state Department of Tourism and State Development.

    He resigned from his state job the same day.

  • Bollen signed an amended contract.

    Richard Benda represented the state in both contracts.
  • Period: to

    Investors in the Deadwood Mountain Grand singed EB-5 agreement

    April: Investors in the Deadwood Mountain Grand singed an agreement authorizing $4.5 million in EB-5 funds through Bollen and SDRC. 2013

  • Northern Beef lays off 108

    Northern Beef lays off 108 production workers and continues processing with 260.

  • Denial of NBP loans

    Pat Costello, commissioner for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, tells Bollen that Daugaard administration won’t approve SDRC Inc. proposal for a fourth round of EB-5 loans to Northern Beef project.

  • Northen Beef files Ch. 11

    Northern Beef files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

  • NBP lays off 260

    Northern Beef lays off remaining 260 production workers.

  • SDRC contract cancelled

    GOED’s Costello terminates state contract with SDRC Inc. for EB-5 management and orders SDRC Inc. to shut down its EB-5 website that lists GOED as one of its partners.

  • Arrest warrant for Benda

    Attorney General Jackley has office prepare a complaint and arrest warrant to be served on Benda at a future time for two Class 3 felony counts of aggravated theft by deception and by threat for events in Hughes and Brown counties between December 28, 2010, and January 26, 2011, regarding the $550,000 paid from Northern Beef to SDRC Inc. Jackley plans grand-theft charge against Benda for the airline-ticket double payments.

  • Grand jury arranged

    Jackley arranges for a state grand jury to meet Oct. 28, 2013, on the Benda / SDRC / Northern Beef matters.

  • Grant program reviewed

    GOED’s Costello contracts with Stulken, Petersen, Lingle, Walti and Jones accounting firm to review each disbursement from state Future Fund grant program covering Jan. 1, 2009, through Sept. 30, 2013.

  • GOED investigated

    GOED’s Costello contracts with Eide Bailly accounting firm to examine internal controls at GOED.

  • $550k SDRC transfer found

    Rory King, an Aberdeen lawyer representing Northern Beef, confirms to the American News that $550,000 transfer to SDRC Inc. was to pay for loan monitor. This is first public acknowledgment reason for the diversion.

  • Benda missing

    Benda goes missing from new job with Heartland Consumers Power District at Madison. Also misses meeting related to previous job with a Sioux Falls development company.

  • Benda's body found

    Benda’s body is found on relative’s farm near Lake Andes. State, federal and local law enforcement authorities go to site.

  • Benda funeral

    Funeral held for Benda at Watertown, where he lived prior to moving to Pierre. Among pallbearers is Jim Barringer, chief executive for Aberdeen Development Corp. Benda served on ADC board while living in Aberdeen.

  • Daugaard statements

    Daugaard releases statement disclosing there have been federal and state investigations underway.

  • Two more GOED reviews

    GOED’s Costello contracts with Stulken, Petersen firm for two additional reviews of GOED programs.

  • Benda ruled suicide

    Death certificate filed for Benda. Death determined to have been suicide on Oct. 20. Official cause listed as self-inflicted shotgun wound to abdomen using a stick to fire the weapon.

  • Benda investigation

    Daugaard reveals Benda was under state investigation at time of death.

  • Joint resolution filed

    Legislative leaders from both political parties file a joint resolution requesting the Government Operations and Audit Committee conduct hearings on the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

  • GOED audit released

    The governor releases special report from the state Department of Legislative Audit regarding Governor’s Office of Economic Development. The audit was requested by GOED. Findings include 2010 - 2011 Future Fund payments to Northern Beef. Double payments in 2010 to Benda for three airline tickets totaling $5,559.80 also confirmed.

  • Benda payments reported

    State Auditor General Marty Guindon says approximately $89,000 was paid by state government to Benda for expenses related to EB-5 in 2009-10 that SDRC Inc. should have paid under its state contract. Also, while Benda was still a state employee, SDRC Inc. paid him approximately $62,000 for expenses that didn’t have any supporting documents.

  • White Oak buys plant

    San Francisco firm White Oak Global Advisors announces completion of purchase of Northern Beef from bankruptcy for $44.3 million. White Oak pays $4.8 million in cash in addition to money previously loaned to project. There had been approximately $80 million in EB-5 investments and $152 million total in capital investment. Plant remains closed.

  • AAN report published

    Aberdeen American News publishes history of EB-5 in South Dakota based on public documents.

  • GOAC meeting

    Attorney General Jackley discloses publicly for the first time to legislators at GOAC meeting that his office had prepared the charges and arrest warrant against Benda and that a grand jury had been scheduled before Benda’s death. The only Democratic legislator at the meeting, Rep. Susan Wismer of Britton, called for the committee to subpoena Bollen but she couldn’t get a second to her motion, so there wasn’t a vote taken. Wismer is the Democratic candidate for governor against Daugaard.

  • Reports denial affirmed

    Citing family privacy, Circuit Judge Kathleen Trandahl rules attorney general acted within his discretion in refusing newspaper reporter’s requests from November and December 2013 to release information from Benda death investigation.

  • Weiland ads air

    Rick Weiland, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, airs campaign ad attacking Rounds, the Republican candidate, on EB-5.

  • Rounds avoids EB-5 link

    Rounds tries to avoid EB-5 link and argues that Bollen worked for Board of Regents. Contracts show GOED provided annual funding to Northern State University for institute where Bollen and a secretary were only regular employees.

  • Bollen not liable

    California arbitrator finds none of the sides is liable for damages in dispute over 2007 contract between Darley International recruiting firm and Hanul law firm of Seoul, South Korea, regarding an investment project involving Bollen and South Dakota International Business Institute that took all three to China.

  • 2007 GOED letters found

    Letter from 2007 on GOED stationery surfaces showing Benda and Bollen signed EB-5 recruitment pitch to investors in China.

  • Ad defends Rounds

    Campaign ad defends Rounds on EB-5, citing arbitrator’s decision.

  • Rounds letter found

    Letter from 2005 on governor’s stationery surfaces showing Rounds signed EB-5 recruitment pitch to investors.

  • SDIBI docs authorized

    Responding to reporter’s questions, Darley chief Robert Stratmore authorizes use of documents and depositions from Darley-Hanul-SDIBI dispute. Bollen’s deposition, taken over three days in April, outlines actions regarding SDIBI, Hanul, Darley, EB-5, SDRC Inc., Northern State University, Governor’s Office of Economic Development and state Department of Tourism and State Development from 2003 through 2009-10.

  • State says EB-5 loan firm must pay banking tax

    The state Department of Revenue also said it will examine whether it can retroactively collect taxes from SDRC Inc., the private firm founded by Joop Bollen.A

  • SDRC tax ruling in EB-5 case will not be public

    Law bars disclosure of SDRC info

  • FBI closes investigation, no charges filed

    The FBI has closed its investigation into South Dakota's investment-for-visa program, and the U.S. Attorney's office has decided not to pursue prosecution.
    FBI spokesman Kyle Loven says the agency recently forwarded its findings of the state's EB-5 program to the office of U.S. Attorney Randy Seiler. Loven says the office decided not to bring charges.
    South Dakota was one of the pioneers of the program that recruits wealthy immigrant investors for projects in exchange for green cards.
    The progra

  • Feds to kick SD from EB-5 program

    The probe’s findingsMillions missing, improperly spent; state suing for Bollen's records

  • SD asks to not be removed from EB-5 program

    South Dakota's economic development office on Friday defended its ability to administer a program for recruiting wealthy foreign investors for projects in exchange for green cards, saying problems flagged by the federal government stem from a private company that previously ran the program.

  • Investors sue SD over beef plant

    Thirty-five foreign investors who sunk a collective $18.5 million into a failed South Dakota beef processing plant sued the state on Wednesday, alleging that officials misrepresented that the project was financially sound.

  • Program at standstill

    No new projects, but residency petitions being approved

  • Bollen charged in EB-5 case

    Bollen charged in EB-5 case
    Court paperwork: Aberdeen man improperly tapped into roughly $1.24M
    http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/local/bollen-charged-in-eb--case/article_d2a57947-a83b-5218-a403-5da68db718a6.html

  • Bollen is state's EB-5 scapegoat, his attorney says after court

    Criminal charges filed Thursday against Joop Bollen of Aberdeen stem from a state investigation that started in 2013 and new information that surfaced in December 2015. http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/local/bollen-is-state-s-eb--scapegoat-his-attorney-says/article_e1bba3c2-f821-11e5-94b9-3f9b7621672e.html

  • South Dakota's criminal EB-5 case rests on little-used charge

    The high-profile financial misconduct case against Joop Bollen, the Aberdeen man who once ran South Dakota’s investment-for-visa program, relies on a little-used felony charge that has been filed in much simpler cases, such as the shooting of a truck with a rifle and the auctioning of a Volvo loader.
    http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/local/south-dakota-s-criminal-eb--case-rests-on-little/article_0395c231-8a15-58a8-abfd-68ef57ed7d0e.html

  • Grand jury indicts Bollen in EB-5 case

    Joop Bollen of Aberdeen has been indicted on criminal charges he previously faced in alleged misuse of EB-5 funds reserved for state government.
    http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/local/grand-jury-indicts-bollen-in-eb--case/article_981a2323-f4a7-5e7a-a9d6-6865013b812d.html

  • Bollen pleads not guilty to unauthorized use of funds

    A fall trial is likely in the case against Joop Bollen, who pleaded not guilty Friday to five felonies tied to alleged improper use of money in a federal foreign investor program.
    http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/local/bollen-pleads-not-guilty-to-unauthorized-use-of-funds/article_fb855d3b-ecf8-5f3e-80f8-a8ff3d9296b0.html

  • Joop Bollen trial set for February

    A February trial has been set for Joop Bollen, an Aberdeen man accused of improperly using money in a federal foreign investor program.
    http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/local/joop-bollen-trial-set-for-february/article_f4816133-e63d-5335-9428-c36af88ed67a.html

  • SD wants to keep its EB-5 authority

    The Daugaard administration is trying to overturn the federal decision to strip South Dakota state government of its status as an EB-5 immigrant investor center.
    http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/politics/sd-wants-to-keep-its-eb--authority/article_88d20096-8096-59b1-8946-c9fb9cf18604.html

  • Casino investors sue Bollen over EB-5 operation

    A group of investors in a Deadwood casino has filed a lawsuit against the Aberdeen man who headed the state's investment-for-green card program.
    http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/local/casino-investors-sue-bollen-over-eb--operation/article_7f8f9867-8321-55aa-9b6a-1224c1a58207.html

  • Civil testimony not allowed in Bollen criminal case

    Joop Bollen's defense attorney successfully argued Tuesday that attorney testimony in a civil case involving SDRC Inc. should not be allowed in Bollen's criminal case.
    http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/business/civil-testimony-not-allowed-in-bollen-criminal-case/article_9605235f-488e-57b6-90f9-6d8979820d7f.html

  • Motion to dismiss indictment against SDRC owner denied

    Judge Tony Portra has denied a motion to dismiss Bollen's indictment.
    http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/local/judge-bollen-trial-will-move-forward/article_d29257f5-cb8d-5204-964b-d9b7255937c1.html

  • Bollen to change plea in EB-5 case

    The change of plea could negate the need for a trial next week in the case against the former administrator of EB-5 in South Dakota.
    http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/local/bollen-to-change-plea-in-eb--case/article_d9791c69-d8ac-5e6e-97ec-2de56e6519bd.html

  • Bollen pleads to 1 count, given $2,000 fine

    Bollen pleads to 1 count, given $2,000 fine
    The state's case against Joop Bollen has been resolved without the need for a trial.
    http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/local/bollen-pleads-to-count-given-fine/article_42f230a1-095b-595f-9edc-77867e606999.html