For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 7, 2014 

1) Joop Bollen’s illegal contract with company he owned is front and center.

 Yet neither Board of Regents nor Mike Rounds  say they authorized it. As a result of his illegal, unauthorized contract, Joop Bollen has walked away with $108 million that belongs to the people of South Dakota

2) Joop Bollen reported to the Governor’s Office and the Board of Regents.

Yet Mike Rounds continues to claim that Joop Bollen was strictly a Board of Regents employee who reported only to his superiors at Northern State University and the Board of Regents

3) South Dakota taxpayers have paid nearly $500,000 in legal expenses.

Yet so far the Board of Regents has not pursued legal action against Joop Bollen to cover our nearly $500,000 in legal expenses as a result of Joop Bollen’s illegal contract. 

The California arbitrator confirmed much of what we already knew, says Zach Crago, Executive Director with the South Dakota Democratic Party. His statement follows: 

“Rounds employee Joop Bollen gave a company he owned the right to administer the EB5 program.  Bollen reported his activity to the Governor’s Office contrary to the statements from Governor Mike Rounds. And now South Dakota taxpayers have paid nearly $500,000 in legal expenses while Joop Bollen has walked away with $108 million in EB5 fees that belongs to South Dakota taxpayers.
 
Now that this arbitration is over, it’s time for the Board of Regents to release all the documents in the EB5 Darley litigation file and pursue legal action against Joop Bollen to recover the state’s expense on this lawsuit.
On behalf of the South Dakota Democratic Party, I am calling on the Board of Regents to immediately release all the documents in the Darley file, including the 10 hour deposition transcript of Joop Bollen and to pursue legal action against Joop Bollen to recoup nearly $500,000 in legal expenses the state has paid because of Joop Bollen’s illegal contract.
 
It is my hope that the Board of Regents will comply right away with the previous requests of state legislators, the press, and the public to release these documents since their previous conditions have been lifted. 
State legislators, the press, and the public have repeatedly asked the Board of Regents to release documents pertaining to the litigation, but the Board of Regents has so far refused citing the ongoing litigation.
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