The EB5 United lawsuit against EB5AN is a defamation and tortious interference case filed on March 4, 2024, in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Palm Beach County, Florida. EB5 United, a Miami-based EB-5 regional center operator, accuses EB5AN (EB5 Affiliates Network, LLC) and its managing partner Michael B. Schoenfeld of circulating a false written report about EB5 United’s Lakefront Estates and Villas project in Okeechobee, Florida, to steer foreign investors away from the deal. EB5AN moved to dismiss on April 1, 2024, arguing the report is protected opinion.1EB5Investors.com. EB5 United Sues EB5 Affiliate Network2EB5Investors.com. EB5AN Files Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit by EB5 United
What EB5 United Alleges
The complaint centers on a four-page document EB5 United calls the “Project Summary Comments.” According to the lawsuit, EB5 United’s sales team first saw the document on February 20, 2024, when a migration agent forwarded a copy by text message. EB5 United describes the document as containing “fabrications and outright lies” about the Lakefront project’s viability and about prior projects managed by the firm, and says it was distributed to undermine confidence in the development and in EB5 United’s affiliated regional center, Florida EB-5 Investments, LLC.1EB5Investors.com. EB5 United Sues EB5 Affiliate Network
EB5 United alleges that when its executives confronted Schoenfeld, he verbally acknowledged EB5AN had been circulating the document and said the publication “shouldn’t happen.” No retraction followed, according to the complaint.1EB5Investors.com. EB5 United Sues EB5 Affiliate Network
Timing figures heavily in the complaint. The statements circulated in the weeks before April 1, 2024, when USCIS filing fees were set to increase sharply and many EB-5 investors were rushing to submit applications. EB5 United says the document damaged its reputation on questions of “integrity, honesty, and competence” and caused investors to walk away from the Lakefront deal.1EB5Investors.com. EB5 United Sues EB5 Affiliate Network2EB5Investors.com. EB5AN Files Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit by EB5 United
Scott Fuller, EB5 United’s CEO, is listed as the plaintiff’s representative.1EB5Investors.com. EB5 United Sues EB5 Affiliate Network
What EB5AN Says in Its Motion to Dismiss
EB5AN filed its motion to dismiss on April 1, 2024. In it, the company describes the document as consisting “almost entirely of EB5AN’s impressions, views, and beliefs concerning the viability and practicality of the Lakefront Project.” EB5AN argues the statements are “pure opinion, hyperbole, and/or otherwise not actionable,” meaning they are constitutionally protected and cannot support a defamation claim.2EB5Investors.com. EB5AN Files Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit by EB5 United
The company also frames its work as routine industry practice. EB5AN says it regularly compiles reports about projects run by other regional centers as part of its due diligence, and that foreign investors rely on such reviews to spot risks in U.S. investment offerings.2EB5Investors.com. EB5AN Files Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit by EB5 United
Beyond the opinion defense, EB5AN argues the complaint fails to state a valid cause of action and characterizes the suit as an attempt by EB5 United to “scapegoat EB5AN for its own shortcomings” and the “failures” of the Lakefront project. EB5AN also flags a procedural point: EB5 United did not attach the actual Project Summary Comments document to its original complaint, which the motion argues independently warrants dismissal.2EB5Investors.com. EB5AN Files Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit by EB5 United
Bradford Stedem, EB5 United’s president and partner, said publicly that the motion had “no merit” and that the company would file a response.2EB5Investors.com. EB5AN Files Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit by EB5 United
Where the Case Stands
As of the most recent public reporting in April 2024, the court was reviewing the motion to dismiss and had not scheduled a hearing. No public reporting shows the case resolved by ruling, settlement, or dismissal.
The Project at the Center of the Dispute
Lakefront Estates and Villas is a master-planned community in the Okeechobee and Glades County area of Florida. EB5 United’s project page describes 1,000 single-family residential lots for sale, 300 rental units, and 780,000 square feet of leasable commercial space, built in three phases. The site is designated a Rural Targeted Employment Area, which qualifies investors for USCIS priority processing.3EB5 United. Lakefront Estates and Villas
A 2024 New York Post article reported the total project cost at $600 million, with the developer seeking at least $100 million in EB-5 funding, and identified Jeff Akerman as the developer.4New York Post. Canny Foreigners Are Investing Their Way Into a Green Card3EB5 United. Lakefront Estates and Villas5EB5 United. EB5 United’s Lakefront Estates and Villas Project Receives Multiple I-526E Approvals
Why the Case Matters for the EB-5 Industry
EB5 United and EB5AN are competing regional center sponsors. Both structure EB-5 investment projects that allow foreign nationals to obtain U.S. green cards through job-creating investments, and both compete for the same pool of investors and the migration agents who advise them.
EB5AN presents its project reviews as market-facing due diligence that helps investors compare offerings. EB5 United treats the same reviews, when they carry what it calls false claims, as competitive sabotage dressed up as analysis. Whether a written critique of a rival’s project is protected opinion or actionable defamation is the question the court will have to answer, and how it answers could shape how EB-5 sponsors publicly evaluate each other’s deals.