U.S. Supreme Court rules SEC can recover illegal profits from OC [immigrant investor visa] couple

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Securities and Exchange Commission’s efforts to take millions of dollars from an Orange County couple accused of swindling foreign investors but the decision did limit the government to targeting only the net profits of illegal conduct.

The court battle was tied to the case of Charles C. Liu and Xin “Lisa” Wang of Laguna Niguel, who raised $27 million from dozens of investors in China to build a proton beam radiation therapy center aimed at treating cancer, the SEC says.

The center was conceived under a government program in which immigrants can get a green card for themselves and their families if they invest a high enough amount and create enough jobs.

In promotional materials, the couple indicated the project would create more than 4,500 jobs in Southern California, according to the SEC.

The center was never built, and the SEC alleged that the couple transferred $11 million in investor money to firms in China and another $7 million to their own accounts ...

CAIRCO Research

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program / USCIS