Saviours of Saddleback Ski Area, ME Caught on Tape Admitting theyโ€™re Only Buying to Obtain US EB-5 Visa

Steven Agar | | Post Tag for Industry NewsIndustry News
Saddleback Ski Area, ME. Credit: NOAA

Last June, an Australian-based development company, the Majella Group, announced that they would be buying Maineโ€™s Saddleback Ski Area, which has been closed since 2015, promising to make it โ€œthe premier ski resort in North America.โ€ Last week, however, in an audio clip received by News Center Maine, it appears the companyโ€™s interest in the resort may have some ulterior motives, reports Powder.com.

โ€œOpening Saddleback resort is not a primary concern for us. The EB-5 program is the reason we are buying Saddleback,โ€ says Majella CEO Sebastian Monsour in the audio recording. โ€œThe mountain and opening the mountain is something weโ€™d like to achieve, but if we donโ€™t, we are not going to lose any sleep with regards to it.โ€

The EB-5 program Monsour references is the US governmentโ€™s Immigrant Investor Program, which provides lawful permanent residence to immigrant investors and their immediate family who invest at least $500,000 into a new commercial enterprise, or, in Saddlebackโ€™s case, a previously existing troubled business. The program also stipulates the investor must create or maintain 10 full-time jobs in the invested business within two years.

This winter marks Saddlebackโ€™s third straight season not opening for business, after the failure to raise $3 million in funding for a new chairlift pushed their closure in 2015.

saddleback
Saddleback Ski Area

While Monsour has come forward and denied these accusations, claiming the alleged audio recording was taken out of the context of a larger group discussion with his company, the damage has been done, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of many Rangeley locals and Saddleback supporters.

Itโ€™s now eight months after the initial deal was made and the official sale has yet to be finalized. Monsour is reportedly low on funds, and still working to secure the proper investments to buy the ski area, leaving an uncertain path for the future of the ski area, which has been closed since 2015.


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