Gov. Phil Murphy: League advisers recommended soccer firm now at center of criminal investigation

The soccer company at the center of a criminal investigation into an alleged visa scheme that has swept up Harrison-based Sky Blue FC was recommended by league advisers, Gov. Phil Murphy, a co-owner of the team, said Wednesday. 

But Murphy did not offer much more insight into how his professional women's club came to work with the company, Global Premier Soccer. He said he learned of many details late last week from a Boston Globe article, which has chronicled the company's collapse and the legal fallout. 

"I saw the same press as you all did," he said. "This was a program that, as I understand it, was recommended to teams by advisers to the league. I don't have a whole lot beyond that to add." 

Sky Blue was named in charging documents as one of seven soccer teams involved in the visa program with Global Premier, in which teams paid the company to secure visas for foreign coaches or scouts in violation of immigration laws. The financial agreements were valued between $25,000 and $50,000 per team, according to the Globe.

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Aside from the Boston Breakers, Sky Blue was the "most active partner in the immigration arrangement, submitting petitions for about 40 visa applicants on behalf of Global Premier," according to the Globe. 

A former Global Premier executive, Justin Capell, was charged last week and accused of creating fake contracts for various company employees, according to court documents.  

The federal investigation has focused on Global Premier and its leaders, and no members of Sky Blue or other professional teams have been accused of wrongdoing. The team said last week that it was notified of the investigation into Global Premier in 2018 but "has received no further information" since then "and has had no relationship with GPS since 2016."

A former Global Premier manager, Gavin MacPhee, was convicted last year of obstructing the investigation. Another company executive, Joe Bradley, has reportedly acknowledged he is the subject of an investigation and filed a counter lawsuit. 

Murphy co-owns Sky Blue with Bed Bath & Beyond executive Steven Temares, and it has been a money-losing venture for the governor. Still, he reiterated Wednesday that the reason he retains ownership is the same reason he decided to buy it — to give his daughter a group of professional women to look up to. 

"Not that I think she ever had an aspiration to be a pro soccer player," Murphy said. "But it was notable that the boys, including our sons, can look up to pro soccer athletes in the U.S., at a major league level, and you couldn't if you were a younger girl." 

Dustin Racioppi is a reporter in the New Jersey Statehouse. For unlimited access to his work covering New Jersey’s governor and political power structure, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: racioppi@northjersey.com 

Twitter: @dracioppi