Federal Judge Geoffrey Crawford on Wednesday ordered the release of summaries of FBI interviews with former Gov. Peter Shumlin and members of his administration responsible for overseeing the fraudulent Jay Peak Resort projects.
Crawford dismissed claims by federal prosecutors that the records should remain under seal in the government’s case against former Jay Peak Resort president and CEO Bill Stenger in connection with a failed biomedical research facility project in Newport, known as AnC Bio Vermont. Ultimately, according to prosecutors, about $84 million from 170 investors for that project was misused by Stenger and his former partner, Jay Peak owner Ariel Quiros.
The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont had already shared the sealed documents with a third party — the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, which is defending the state in a separate civil lawsuit brought by defrauded immigrant investors represented by the Barr Law Group. And, according to Crawford, Stenger’s defense had allowed attorney Russell Barr to read the files.
“These interview records are something of an open secret,” the judge wrote, adding later in his opinion, “In the conventional expression, the cat is out of the bag.”
The federal court decision is a victory for Barr and his clients, who had hoped to obtain…
