Former ski resort exec pleads guilty to 1 charge, 9 dropped

A former Vermont ski resort president has pleaded guilty to providing false documents during a failed plan to build a biotechnology plant in Newport using tens of millions of dollars in foreign investors’ money

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- A former Vermont ski resort president pleaded guilty Friday to providing false documents during a failed plan to build a biotechnology plant in Newport using tens of millions of dollars in foreign investors' money. In exchange for the guilty plea from William Stenger, the former president of Jay Peak Resort, the federal government dropped nine other fraud charges. The 72-year-old faces up to five years in prison. Stenger's lawyer Brooks McArthur said after the hearing that Miami businessman Ariel Quiros, the former owner of Jay Peak and Burke Mountain Resort, and his advisor William Kelly, were career con men and fraudsters who took advantage of Stenger. In 2019, Quiros, Stenger and Kelly were indicted criminally over a failed plan to build the biotechnology plant in Newport, Vermont, using millions raised through the EB-5 program. The visa program encourages foreigners to invest in U.S. projects that create jobs in exchange for a chance to earn permanent U.S. residency.