Former ski resort owner gets 5 years in Vermont fraud case

By LISA RATHKE
Associated Press

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — The former owner of two Vermont ski resorts has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a failed plan to build a biotechnology plant using millions from foreign investors. A federal judge in Burlington said at Friday’s sentencing of 65-year-old Miami businessman Ariel Quiros that the plan for the Vermont biotechnology plant was “a fiction from beginning to end.” Prosecutors estimate that Quiros pocketed $30 million to $37 million that had been raised the project. Quiros apologized in court for his actions. He has already surrendered more than $80 million in assets to settle a civil case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.