Dr. Robert Yang and the administrative manager of his medical practice, Claudia Kano, secured funds from foreign investors hoping to immigrate to the U.S. under the EB-5 Program. Yang told investors that their money would go towards the creation of three specialized, "sub-acute" nursing home facilities in California.

Yang and Kano raised approximately $20 million from 40 Chinese investors. Individual investors paid Yang $500,000 with an additional $45,000 payment to "finders"—middlemen who connect investors with EB-5 projects.  

Yang and Kano diverted more than $10 million for personal and other uses. The SEC alleges that Yang and Kano used investor funds for Yang's medical practice, to pay Yang's personal taxes, and to purchase real estate unrelated to the EB-5 projects.

Because the nursing homes were never opened, the jobs Yang and Kano promised investors were never created which made the investors ineligible for green cards. What’s more, Yang and Kano paid their portion of the "finder's' fees" using investors' money, thus lowering the visa-seekers investments under the $500,000 minimum requirement for a green card under the EB-5 Program.