Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe’s scandal-ridden car company, GreenTech Automotive, employed a former director of the Virginia Democratic Party, who now serves as an adviser to McAuliffe’s campaign, according to a new report.
Levar Stoney, who served as executive director of the Virginia Democratic Party from 2008 to 2009, served as director of public and government affairs at GreenTech Automotive from May 2010 to December 2012, when McAuliffe left the company to run for governor, Watchdog.org reports.
Stoney was announced as McAuliffe’s deputy campaign manager in November 2012.
GreenTech Automotive, co-founded by McAuliffe, is currently under Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, and the scandal is gaining heat as McAuliffe’s race against Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli progresses.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged that he met with McAuliffe to generally discuss the USCIS visa application process, which McAuliffe complained was too slow.
Mayorkas recently came under federal investigation for allegedly helping an investor in Gulf Coast Funds Management, run by Hillary Clinton brother and McAuliffe business partner Anthony “Tony” Rodham, get an EB-5 visa, which grants conditional permanent residence to foreign nationals who invest significant amounts of money in the United States.
Gulf Coast Funds Management handles EB-5 visas for investors in GreenTech Automotive, of which McAuliffe was co-founder and chairman. GreenTech reportedly relies on EB-5 visas for its investors.
The investor’s application had already been denied by the time Mayorkas became involved, and an appeal had already been shot down.
“I was asked to attend a meeting with Mr. McAuliffe so that I could hear in person his complaints… I heard those complaints, and that was the extent of the interaction,” Mayorkas said.
The McAuliffe campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.