EB 5 has become a familiar term to most South Dakotans.

The scandal has left more questions than answers.

• One man is dead from a “suicide”.  The information available says he shot himself in the abdomen with a shotgun, using a stick to push the trigger.

• Boxes of files are “missing”.  No, Lois Lerner didn’t come to South Dakota.  These files were taken by Joop Bollen.

• South Dakota lost over $ 4.3 Million dollars on one project.

But there is more.  Much more.

I’ll bet you didn’t know about the “extra money” that was part of the EB 5 scandal.  According to the report by investigative news reporter, Joe O’Sullivan, there were a few people making some “Extra Money”…

Investors didn’t just pay the $500,000 in investment money, according to the beef plant bankruptcy records. Each investor also paid $30,000 in administrative fees to the South Dakota program officials, as well as $15,000 each in attorney fees. That means the 50 investors in the third and final round of beef plant financing paid, in all, $25 million to fund the plant, $1.5 million to private program administrators; and $750,000 to attorneys.

Read the entire article here:  http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/chinese-investors-in-failed-s-d-beef-plant-may-be/article_8f60a90e-3e48-5c67-85bf-a7eeeca9e94e.html#.U8ShnAoOeuA.facebook

The more we learn, the more EB 5 smells like corruption and crony capitalism.