It must be campaign season, because now we see accusations that Terry McAuliffe’s electric car company (based in Mississippi), is nothing but a fraud:
To kick-start GreenTech Automotive in Mississippi, the Virginia Democrat has sought funding through federal EB-5 immigration visas. In exchange for investments of $500,000, foreign nationals can gain U.S. citizenship for themselves and their families.
But the EB-5 system has been heavily criticized for its lack of transparency and lackadaisical enforcement. McAuliffe’s venture is seen as a particularly bad fit for the alien-investor program that’s supposed to create U.S. jobs.
“EB-5 is good for funding certain kinds of projects, but it’s not appropriate for this type of large-scale, long-term funding,” said Michael Gibson, managing partner of U.S. Advisors, a Florida-based research and investment firm knowledgeable about the program.
Gibson expressed deeper doubts about GreenTech’s overall business model.
McAuliffe, the company’s founder and chairman, announced in 2009 intentions to build “neighborhood electric vehicles” that are little bigger or faster than golf carts. The GTA website touts “Green Jobs Made in the USA,” but, in fact, few U.S. jobs and fewer cars have been created.
“This project is a fantasy. It’s really a very poorly conceived project for EB-5 financing, and extremely problematic,” Gibson told Watchdog.
“Really, it’s a fraud.”
That’s tough stuff. And it’s a neat trick.
It puts McAuliffe into the position of now having to deny that his car venture is fraudulent. It’s almost the equivalent of saying he doesn’t beat his wife, kick his dog, or steal from the church collection plate.
But that’s just putting one boot into Terry’s side. How about another:
GreenTech’s conduit for EB-5 investors is Gulf Coast Funds Management Ltd., a regional center authorized by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The center’s board of directors is larded with political cronies who have close connections to Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Keeping things in the family, as it were.
There’s already question as to whether McAuliffe’s campaign is nothing more than a stalking horse for a possible Hillary Clinton presidential run in 2016.
I’m beginning to think it’s not. Rather, McAuliffe is completely, utterly serious about being Virginia’s next governor. If he doesn’t win, he will be forced to deal with the mess his electric car company is likely to leave in Mississippi, if not a few courtrooms elsewhere in the nation. That could really bring a guy’s spirits low.
Come to think of it, he may have to do so even if he wins. In that case, Virginia’s lieutenant governor race, arguably, becomes more important that the top slot.
Because whoever wins the LG race may have to take over as governor much sooner than he or she ever expected.
