$130M Tinian Casino Project’s Titanic Failure Sparks Investor Lawsuit
Posted on: September 15, 2025, 06:10h.
Last updated on: September 15, 2025, 06:10h.
- Investors allege false promises and EB-5 visa fraud
- Lawsuit claims $64 million loaned without repayment safeguards
- Casino project promoted jobs, tourism but never broke ground
A $130 million “Titanic-themed resort and casino” on Tinian Island fared worse than the ship that inspired it. At least the Titanic got past the blueprint stage.
A decade after the “Tinian Ocean View Resort and Casino” was first pitched to investors, the project has failed to break ground on Tinian, part of the U.S. Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific, just north of Guam.
Sunk Before Launch
Early on, the casino was promoted as an economic lifeline for Tinian, yet the promised jobs and tourism never arrived.
Now, a group of investors — 23 Chinese nationals – have filed a $13.4 million lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court alleging they were stiffed, Marianas Variety reports. They claim the project never materialized because of false promises, mismanagement, and misrepresentation by the developer.
Worse still, the investors were told their EB-5 contributions would qualify them for green cards by creating jobs in the Northern Marianas, a US territory. The promised development never materialized, and neither did the visas.
The EB-5 program lets foreign investors obtain permanent US residency by putting at least $800,000 into US projects that generate a minimum of 10 jobs.
The developer named in the lawsuit is Bridge Investment Group LLC. This is not the same as the Utah-based publicly traded private equity real estate firm Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc., which has no connection to the complaint.
The plaintiffs, all members of the American Northern Marianas Economic Development Fund LLC, allege that the defendants violated multiple legal duties and misled them in order to secure investments tied to the EB-5 visa program.
The investment pitch claimed that nearly $12.1 million from these 23 plaintiffs (and significantly larger sums from other Class B investors) would fund the development of a 300-room casino resort with amenities including two hotels (one “luxury,” one “mid-range”), retail and dining, convention space, spa facilities, and even a ferry service.
In total, the fund is alleged to have funneled about $64 million into Bridge Investment Group, according to the complaint.
But the loans were made without signed agreements, repayment commitments, or collateral, per the lawsuit. Plaintiffs say the gambling license was never pledged to secure financing. Without bank loans or refinancing, the lawsuit contends, the project was doomed from the start.
‘Broken Promises’
The suit also points to promotional claims circulated on WeChat and through Canbo International Group, a Hong Kong-based immigration consultancy, which allegedly guaranteed fast visa approvals and depicted construction progress that did not exist.
In August 2023, Canbo abruptly shut down a group chat for investors after U.S. immigration authorities issued notices of intent to revoke previously approved petitions. Plaintiffs argue this was an attempt to cut off questions as the project unraveled.
The complaint also highlights flaws in the EB-5 job-creation model, noting that Tinian’s small pool of U.S. workers and reliance on imported materials made it unlikely the project could ever satisfy the requirement of 10 jobs per investor.
Those named in the suit include Xianjun Meng, managing director of the American Northern Marianas Regional Center (ANMRC) and CEO of Bridge Investment Group LLC; his wife Silvia Siu (also known as Xiao Bing); and two New York attorneys, Jin An and Samuel Newbold. Meng and Siu are also principals of Canbo International Group Ltd., a Hong Kong-based immigration consultancy.
The plaintiffs claim breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, conversion, unjust enrichment, legal malpractice, and negligent misrepresentation and seek repayment of their investments, plus damages.
The defendants are yet to file a response to the lawsuit.
Last Comment ( 1 )
Why Chinese developers plan to open casino at Tinian port terminal? If you google Online, you will see that Tinian is one of largest US military base for the pacific. Someone need to more investigative article about it.