A federal judge has denied a request by a Florida man convicted in the EB-5 scandal that played out in northern Vermont to shorten his time on court-ordered supervised release.
Judge Geoffrey Crawford issued a one-paragraph order Monday rejecting the request filed in June in U.S. District Court in Burlington by an attorney for William Kelly to end his three-year term of supervised release a year early.
Crawford wrote in the order that Kelly’s supervised release had been transferred in March 2024 to Florida, where Kelly, 76, resides. As a result, the judge added, Kelly could make a request to a federal court in Florida to change his period of supervised release.
Robert Goldstein, an attorney for Kelly, declined comment Tuesday.
Kelly, who prosecutors termed the “consummate fixer” who tried to “outwit” regulators when they were investigating the scandal, was eventually indicted on criminal charges in 2019 along with two of his business partners.
Those two men were Ariel Quiros, the former owner of Jay Peak ski resort, and Bill Stenger, Jay Peak’s former president and CEO.
All three were indicted on federal criminal charges and later reached plea deals in connection with their roles in a proposed $110 million biomedical research facility slated for Newport in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. The project never got off the ground and was later termed “nearly a complete fraud” by regulators.
The case left many foreign investors out of their investment and no way to meet the job-creating requirements to secure U.S. residency, or green cards, they were seeking through the EB-5 visa program.
All three men were later sentenced to prison, with Kelly receiving an 18-month term, which he has since served. He was also ordered to serve three years on supervised release, which requires regular check-in with authorities and certain travel restrictions.
Kelly was also required to make monthly payments on the $8.3 million in restitution included in his sentencing.
The motion seeking an early end from supervised release stated Kelly “worked diligently to rebuild and contribute positively” to the community.
“His family, church, and community have all been vital in his transformation, and he takes pride in trying to give back to his community in meaningful ways,” the filing stated.
