A federal judge has granted the request of the receiver overseeing Burke Mountain and Jay Peak ski resorts, whose owner was charged with fraud, to execute a $3.2 million federal government coronavirus relief loan to help keep the resorts open and employees working.
The resorts have re-opened after being closed down for several months due to the pandemic and hope to prepare for the ski season and boost staffing by November, federal receiver Michael Goldberg told U.S. District Court, according to Caledonian Record. The loan through the Paycheck Protection Program would be financed by City National Bank.
Miami businessman Ariel Quiros, who owned Jay Peak and Burke, pleaded not guilty in May 2019 to 12 felony charges, including seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of false statements.
Quiros and three others were indicted over a failed plan to build a biotechnology plant in Newport using $200 million in foreign investors’ money. His lawyer said last month that Quiros plans to withdraw his not guilty pleas.
The federal Securities and Exchange Commission also accused him and his associates in a Ponzi-like scheme. As part of the SEC settlement, Quiros surrendered more than $80 million in real estate and other assets including the two ski resorts. The receiver plans to eventually sell Burke and Jay Peak.
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