The Florida Supreme Court disbarred Miami immigration attorney Stephen Matthew Bander due to trust violations and failure to refund fees to his EB-5 clients. The clients invested in the Skyrise Miami tower project; the project offered to pay up to $40,000 of legal fees per investor. Bander put the legal-fee payment from Skyrise in his firm’s operating account but still charged three clients a total of $25,000 each. "Bander knowingly converted client property for his own benefit," the Florida Supreme Court stated. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had previously investigated Bander for acting as an unregistered broker-dealer.
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