Cases show foreign donors secretly funnel money through straw donors, shell companies, 'dark money'

URL	https://Persagen.com/docs/dark_money-foreign_donors-opensecrets-2021-10-28.html	Lev Parnas [source]
Sources	Persagen.com \| other sources (cited in situ)
Source URL	https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/10/foreign-donors-funnel-money-straw-donors-shell-companies-dark-money
Author	Anna Massoglia. Anna is OpenSecrets' investigative researcher. As part of OpenSecrets Foreign Lobby Watch project, Anna tracks political ad data, and investigates "dark money." Anna holds degrees in political science and psychology from North Carolina State University and a J.D. from the University of the District of Columbia School of Law [David A. Clarke School of Law].
Date published	2021-10-28
Curation date	2021-10-31
Curator	Dr. Victoria A. Stuart, Ph.D.
Modified
Editorial practice	Refer here \| Date format: yyyy-mm-dd
Summary	Lev Parnas, a Soviet-born former business associate of Rudy Giuliani, was recently convicted for campaign finance crimes. His case, and others, exposed the ways secret donors - including foreign nationals - can hide their identities from the American public while currying influence with U.S. politicians through straw donors, shell companies and "dark money."
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Related	Dark money
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Lev Parnas, a Soviet-born former business associate of Rudy Giuliani, was recently convicted for campaign finance crimes. His case, and others, exposed the ways secret donors - including foreign nationals - can hide their identities from the American public while currying influence with U.S. politicians through straw donors, shell companies and "dark money."

On 2021-10-22, a jury found Lev Parnas guilty on six counts related to illegally funneling foreign money into U.S. elections. His co-defendant, Ukraine-born California cannabis investor Andrey Kukushkin, was found guilty on two counts related to the conspiracy to steer money from a foreign national into U.S. elections.

Igor Fruman, Lev Parnas' Soviet-born business partner, was charged along with Lev Parnas, Andrey Kukushkin and their U.S. partner, David Correia, in the illegal foreign straw donor scheme.

Igor Fruman pleaded guilty to in September 2021 to one count of soliciting money from a foreign national and is awaiting sentencing. In February 2021, David Correia was sentenced to a year and a day in prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements.

The scheme steered more than $690,000 to Republican Party campaigns and political groups during the 2018 election cycle, reaching candidates at the federal and state level.

While it is less clear what influence Parnas and others gained from through their contributions, the access granted is well documented.

Text messages admitted as evidence during the trial show America First Action's financial director encouraged Lev Parnas to give large contributions to the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action so Parnas could get access to events.

The super PAC America First Action hosted several events catering to big donors attended by former President Donald Trump himself, including one where Parnas' photo was taken with Trump.

Lev Parnas and his associates also made a $50,000 donation in the name of Global Energy Producers to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) [Wikipedia entry] in his 2018 gubernatorial race, state campaign finance disclosures show. The donation came just before DeSantis won the Republican Party primary and a day before TrumpDeSantis admitted at the time that he knew Parnas but Fruman, "not so much."

Prosecutors said Parnas lied to the Federal Election Commission about the source of the 2018 donation since the company was in fact not profitable or functioning as a real business.

The jury found that the donation was actually sourced through a mortgage refinance loan obtained by Igor Fruman.

A common thread among the candidates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman steered donations to during the 2018 cycle is that they were running in states that could have been advantageous to their fledgling marijuana business.

Wesley Duncan - a 2018 Republican Party candidate for attorney general in Nevada - testified that his campaign refunded a $10,000 donation from Parnas as soon as they found out it was illegal. Duncan also claimed he once turned down an invitation from Parnas to fly to an event in a private jet.

While Lev Parnas' case ended with a conviction, other prosecutions in similar cases are just beginning.

On 2021-10-19, a grand jury indicted Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) [Wikipedia entry] with knowingly making false statements to FBI agents about whether he was aware that his campaign received illegal contributions from Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury [Wikipedia entry] at a 2016 fundraiser.

In April 2021, the United States Department of Justice unsealed documents revealing that Gilbert Chagoury agreed to pay the U.S. government $1.8 million to resolve allegations in a straw donor scheme routing illegal foreign contributions to U.S. campaigns.

Jeff Fortenberry is the only politician to be indicted in the case. He is charged with concealing information and making false statements to federal investigators.

The other candidates whose campaigns received illegal foreign funds from straw donors steering money from Gilbert Chagoury have not been charged.

In a recording released by The Telegraph, Jesse Benton can be heard describing how a foreign national could pass a $2 million contribution to the PAC through shell companies and 501(c)(4) nonprofit dark money groups.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) charged Jesse Benton with knowingly soliciting illegal funds from a foreign national but Benton declined to cooperate with the FEC's investigation and chose not to enter into conciliation because of due process issues. The FEC ultimately deadlocked on whether to pursue the matter further.

Cases show foreign donors secretly funnel money through straw donors, shell companies, 'dark money'

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