Anshoo Sethi Got 3 Years for EB-5 Fraud That Raised $160 Million From Chinese Investors for a Fake O'Hare Hotel Complex

Case from 2014–2017 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Aug. 27, 2014; later developments are from court records and other sources cited below). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Anshoo Sethi, founder of A Chicago Convention Center LLC, was indicted on Aug. 27, 2014, on charges that he used the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program to raise about $160 million from some 290 Chinese nationals for a $912 million hotel and convention center near O'Hare International Airport, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1].

Outcome: Sethi pleaded guilty to wire fraud, admitting he gave investors forged documents, including a bogus letter from Hyatt. On Feb. 21, 2017, U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee sentenced him to three years in prison and $8.8 million in restitution, the Chicago Sun-Times reported [2].

How the scheme worked

According to the indictment, as summarized by prosecutors [1]:

1. The visa angle: Under EB-5, a foreign national can qualify for U.S. residency by investing at least $500,000 in a job-creating project in a targeted area. USCIS approved Sethi's Intercontinental Regional Center Trust of Chicago as a regional center in June 2011.
2. The ask: From January 2011 to February 2013, investors each paid $500,000 for construction plus a $41,500 administrative fee, which they were told was fully refundable if their visas were denied.
3. The lies: Sethi falsely claimed franchise agreements with Hyatt, Starwood and InterContinental Hotels Group. He claimed a $177 million appraisal for the three-acre site at 8201 W. Higgins Road. He circulated a forged Illinois Finance Authority letter, plus a fake city agreement and ordinance for about $97 million in tax increment financing. The same false claims went to USCIS.
4. The fees: He spent nearly all of the administrative fees, including at least $320,000 on luxury goods, a civil settlement, a cosmetic surgery business and other personal costs, the indictment alleged.

No investor received an EB-5 visa through the project. After the SEC sued in 2013, about $147 million that had been held in escrow and frozen was returned to investors [1].

The person sentenced

Anshoo Sethi, 30 at indictment, Chicago — founder and managing member of A Chicago Convention Center LLC and managing member of Intercontinental Regional Center Trust of Chicago LLC.

• Charged: eight counts of wire fraud and two counts of making false statements (August 2014).
• Plea: guilty to wire fraud, more than a year before sentencing, per the Sun-Times.
• Sentence (Feb. 21, 2017): three years in prison; $8.8 million restitution [2].

Red flags

• Claims of brand-name hotel partners you can't confirm with the brand.
• Government financing "approvals" backed only by documents the promoter supplies.
• "Fully refundable" fees that aren't held in escrow.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Confirm a regional center's status with USCIS, but remember that USCIS approval is not an endorsement of the project.
2. Verify claimed financing directly with the city or state agency, and confirm hotel deals with the brand's development office.
3. Read the SEC and USCIS investor alerts on EB-5 fraud, and report concerns to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Anshoo Sethi, Chicago	N.D. Ill. (Judge Lee)	Pleaded guilty to wire fraud; sentenced Feb. 21, 2017, to 3 years; $8.8M restitution	[1], [2]

The sentence was imposed in 2017; we have not found a source on Sethi's current custody status.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Chicago Man Allegedly Exploited U.S. Visa Program To Defraud Chinese Investors Of $160 Million In Purported O'Hare Complex," Aug. 27, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/chicago-man-allegedly-exploited-us-visa-program-defraud-chinese-investors-160-million
2. Jon Seidel, "Developer who conned foreign investors out of $160M gets 3 years," Chicago Sun-Times, Feb. 21, 2017. https://chicago.suntimes.com/2017/2/21/18400503/developer-who-conned-foreign-investors-out-of-160m-gets-3-years

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