Lobsang Dargey was a former Tibetan mon and immigrant turned developer who became known for his ambitious real estate projects in the Seattle area, including the Potala Village development. He was convicted in 2018 of defrauding more than $150 million from 280 immigrant investors through a visa-for-sale scheme known as the EB-5 program. Dargey's scheme promised investors green cards in exchange for investments in his projects, but he diverted funds for personal use and falsified documents to mislead investors about the progress of his developments. He was sentenced to four years in federal prison for his crimes.