Thread by @nonilex

Lev Parnas Ex-Giuliani Associate Is Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Campaign Finance Scheme

Parnas conspired to funnel money from a Russian oligarch to candidates as part of an influence-buying scheme

@ColinRMoynihan
#GOPCorruption
nytimes.com/2022/06/29/nyr…

“‘Mr. Parnas was at the center of three criminal schemes,’ Judge Oetken said, adding that Mr. Parnas had behaved in ways that ‘erode confidence’ in the #ElectoralSystem.…

“After his arrest, other details of Parnas’s life emerged. He acknowledged participating in an effort by Giuliani to pressure Ukrainian ofcls to investigate President Biden while he was a leading Democratic presidential candidate.…

“In a stmnt, Damian Williams, the US atty for SDNY, said: ‘Not content to defraud investors in his business, Fraud Guarantee, out of more than $2M dollars, Parnas also defrauded the American public by pumping Russian money into US elections & lying about the source of funds….’

“Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 6½ to 8 years, writing that Parnas had ‘lied & swindled & corrupted for his own benefit.’

‘Parnas put himself above this country, his investors, & the public,’ they wrote.

“Parnas’s immersion in Republican politics reached its peak in 2018. That year he & a business ptnr, Igor Fruman, began attending political fund-raisers & making contributions. Prosecutors said they wanted to ingratiate themselves w/in political circles & promote an energy co

“they had formed, Global Energy Producers.

“A $325,000 contribution to a pro-Trump super PAC, America First Action, Inc., was falsely reported as coming from that co, prosecutors said. They added that the money really came from a loan Fruman had taken out on a condo he owned

“& was meant in part to ‘obtain access to exclusive political events & gain influence w/politicians.’…

“In addition to mingling at political events, Parnas began working w/Giuliani, traveling to Kyiv to press ofcls there to investigate Biden’s son Hunter.

“He was also in regular touch w/ Yuriy Lutsenko, who, as Ukraine’s chief prosecutor at the time, was urging the removal of the U.S. ambassador in Kyiv.

“Trump’s eventual decision to recall the ambassador, Marie L. Yovanovitch, was cited during his first impeachment

“& became central to a federal investigation into whether Mr. Giuliani broke lobbying laws.

“Giuliani also had a connection to Parnas’s co, Fraud Guarantee.…

“But Fraud Guarantee itself turned out to be fraudulent.”