The woman behind a politicized business debacle that cost Virginia taxpayers $1.4 million says she was a “victim” of a broken promise.
Yunshan “Stella” Li blamed her company’s failure to bring jobs to Appomattox on a Chinese financier who she claims disappeared with Virginia’s money and some of her own.
Li’s remarks about the project were her first public comments since a January 2016 Roanoke Times investigation exposed critical errors in project vetting. She traded messages online this month with a Chinese journalist and The Roanoke Times.
The Roanoke Times’ report sparked state police and FBI investigations into the deal, but key players, including Li, say they’ve yet to be interviewed by authorities, news that drew criticism from state lawmakers. Legal efforts to recover Virginia’s lost money have cost the state tens of thousands of dollars in lawyer fees but so far recovered nothing.
