In a stunning legal development, a group of international investors has accused several Virginia-based entities and individuals of orchestrating a fraudulent investment scheme under the guise of an EB-5 project. The complaint was filed by plaintiffs Phan Minh Trang and others in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on December 4, 2025, against defendants including DMPT, LP, Red Leaf Development, LLC, and others.
The lawsuit details a complex web of alleged negligence, conflicts of interest, and breaches of contract related to an EB-5 project intended to redevelop the El Jebel Shrine Temple in Denver into a family entertainment center with an accompanying mixed-use tower. Plaintiffs claim that their investments were mismanaged and misappropriated by the defendants. The complaint alleges that the project was used as a financial conduit for unauthorized transfers to support other failing projects controlled by some defendants. It is asserted that promises made to investors regarding job creation and capital return were deliberately misleading. According to the plaintiffs, these false assurances led them to invest $500,000 each plus administrative fees into what they now describe as a doomed venture.
The lawsuit highlights how Robert Lubin and Paul Ruby allegedly controlled various aspects of the project through entities like Red Leaf Development and Golden Lamp Regional Center. It accuses them of concealing irreconcilable conflicts of interest while providing misleading updates about the project’s progress from 2018 to 2025. Furthermore, it is claimed that funds were improperly diverted to unrelated projects such as ML Healthcare in Atlanta.
Plaintiffs are seeking rescission of their investments totaling at least $9.35 million or compensatory damages for this amount if rescission is not granted. They also request punitive damages due to the malicious nature of the alleged misconduct, along with an accounting and appointment of a receiver over certain defendant entities.
Representing the plaintiffs are attorneys George E. Kostel and Richard K. Kelsey from Impresa Legal Group based in Arlington, VA, alongside Robert V. Cornish Jr., who will be filing pro hac vice from Jackson, WY. The case is presided over under Civil Action No. 1:25-cv-02248.
Source: 125cv02248_Trang_v_DMPT_LP_Complaint_Eastern_District_Virginia.pdf
