A former associate of Rudolph Giuliani is expected to plead guilty in a U.S. campaign finance case, potentially increasing legal pressure on the onetime lawyer for former U.S. President Donald Trump.
A "change of plea" hearing for Igor Fruman, which normally signals a forthcoming guilty plea, is scheduled for Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan, court records on Monday showed.
Prosecutors accused the Belarus-born Fruman and Ukraine-born businessman Lev Parnas of concealing an illegal $325,000 donation they made to support Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, and lying to the Federal Election Commission.
They and another defendant, Andrey Kukushkin, have also been charged with illegally using donations to U.S. politicians from a Russian businessman to help them obtain licenses for a legal, recreational marijuana business.
The three defendants were charged in October 2019, and pleaded not guilty to an amended indictment last November.
An Oct. 4 trial is scheduled, though the defendants have said the Delta variant-driven COVID-19 surge makes that date unworkable and want a delay until Feb. 7, 2022. Prosecutors oppose a delay.
Todd Blanche, a lawyer for Fruman, declined to comment. Lawyers for the other defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The office of U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss in Manhattan did not immediately respond to similar requests.
Prosecutors are also examining Giuliani's dealings in Ukraine, including whether he violated lobbying laws by acting as an unregistered foreign agent while working for Trump.
Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and Time magazine's 2001 "Person of the Year," has not been charged and has denied criminal wrongdoing. Neither Giuliani nor his lawyer immediately responded to requests for comment.
Fruman's and Parnas' case has drawn added attention because of their work with Giuliani on matters related to Ukraine.
Giuliani began representing Trump, a fellow Republican, in April 2018 as then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller probed Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Giuliani enlisted Fruman and Parnas to help dig up damaging information about then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Prosecutors said they also assisted in an effort to remove then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
Prosecutors are also examining Giuliani's dealings in Ukraine, including whether he violated lobbying laws by acting as an unregistered foreign agent while working for Trump.
The case against Parnas also includes charges he conned people into investing more than $2 million in a fraud insurance company, Fraud Guarantee, only to withdraw much of it for personal use, including political donations.
Giuliani told Reuters in October 2019 he was paid $500,000 for work on Fraud Guarantee.
Another defendant, David Correia, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge related to Fraud Guarantee and was sentenced in February to one year and one day in prison.
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August 24, 2021 at 03:23AM
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Former Giuliani associate Igor Fruman to change plea in campaign finance case - CNBC
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