SEC Obtains Emergency Relief Against New York Real Estate Developer Charged with EB-5 Securities Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it filed an emergency action and obtained an asset freeze, among other relief, against Richard Xia (aka Yi Xia) and his company, Fleet New York Metropolitan Regional Center LLC (formerly known as Federal New York Metropolitan Regional Center LLC), for committing securities fraud in connection with two real estate projects in Queens, New York. The SEC's complaint alleges that from 2010 through late 2017, Xia, through Fleet, fraudulently raised more than $229 million through five EB-5 offerings from more than 450 investors. The funds were allegedly raised for Xia's two real estate development projects – the Eastern Mirage project and the Eastern Emerald project.