Between October 2011 and April 2015, Jason Adam Ogden, then CEO of AJN Investments, LLC, solicited foreign investors through the EB-5 Program. Ogden told potential investors that they would be investing in two frozen yogurt franchises owned by Ogden: Juiceblendz and Yoblendz. Funds would help build and operate the stores in strip malls, and the new stores would stimulate enough jobs to qualify the investors for green cards as per EB-5 Program requirements.

In response to the decline in the frozen yogurt market in late 2013, Ogden changed AJN’s original business plans, according to the SEC, and started building less expensive kiosks in sports arenas and university campuses. These locations resulted in smaller returns than Ogden promised investors and fewer jobs created, thereby jeopardizing the investors’ visa status. Additionally, Ogden was accused of tapping into ANJ’s EB-5 investments to pay for meals and entertainment and to repay a personal loan.

In total, the SEC alleges Ogden misused over $1 million of foreign investors’ funds, supplied investors with a falsified economic analysis, and continued to solicit investors for the original project even after he changed his business model.

Without denying or admitting the allegations, Ogden settled with the SEC in December 2016 and agreed to pay back the misused investor funds plus interest and a penalty, totaling approximately $1.2 million.