Alleged Misuse of EB‑5 Funds in South Florida Palm House Project Involving Robert Matthews, SARC Founder and Others

Palm House Robert Matthews EB-5 Clintons Trump Tony Bennett https://therealdeal.com/miami/issues_articles/lost-paradise-at-th... 9 of 10 MHyoo ~ "SOUTH FLORIDA REAL ESTATE NEWS Q SUBSCRIBE MY ACCOUNT Fast withdrawals As soon as deposits for the Palm House came in, Matthews, Walsh and Laudano, the project’s general contractor, allegedly began to withdraw money for personal uses. After Matthews was charged with using the account as a piggy bank, Walsh fired off a press release last year claiming he and SARC had been absolved. “It saddens me to see the waste of time, money and talent, and the human and financial capital that these conspirators perpetrated in multiple courts and plain good old fashion lies to continue their charade for years,’ Walsh said in the release. He even reportedly went a step further by hiring Brian Aryai, a certified accountant who claims to have worked as senior special agent for the Department of Homeland Security, to provide a detailed audit showing how the money was lost. The report, meant to clear Walsh’s name, noted that he moved $9.3 million from the Palm House account to his own company through more than 39 individual transactions between September 2013 and January 2015. SARC’s founder is now facing additional civil charges over an office condo project in Royal Palm Beach — another development SARC raised $6.5 million in EB-5 funds for. “Walsh solicited and obtained investors for all of these projects,’ George said. But USCIS didn’t have to travel far to determine the unfinished project was a racket — the agency’s local office sits directly across the street from the Royal Palm site, according to Google Maps. “It’s remarkable... These cases come and go, and there is no reform,” said Gibson, who cited “egregious misuse of funds [while] the industry continues without a bump in the road.” Tags: eb-5, palm house, palm house hotel, robert matthews, South Florida June 2019 6/26/19, 11:57 AM HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_029528