|
Parnas, 50, was convicted in October of seeking funds from
Russian businessman Andrey Muraviev to donate to candidates
Parnas believed could help secure licenses to operate cannabis
businesses. U.S. law bars foreign individuals from contributing
to campaigns.
The Manhattan federal court jury also found that Parnas had
concealed that he and former associate Igor Fruman were the true
source of a donation to a group supporting Trump.
U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken is scheduled to sentence
Parnas at a hearing starting at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT).
Prosecutors last week said Parnas deserved to serve between six
and eight years in prison, arguing the Ukraine-born American
businessman "put himself above this country" and lacked true
remorse.
A lawyer for Parnas had urged Oetken not to send Parnas to
prison, arguing he deserved credit for his post-arrest
cooperation with the U.S. House of Representatives'
investigation leading to Trump's 2019 impeachment.
Parnas and Belarus-born U.S. citizen Igor Fruman are best known
for helping Giuliani investigate Democrat Joe Biden during the
2020 presidential campaign. While Trump was impeached for
abusing his powers to investigate political rivals, he was later
acquitted by the Senate.
Both Fruman, who pleaded guilty, and Andrey Kukushkin, a
Muraviev associate who was convicted on some counts alongside
Parnas, received one-year sentences.
Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, has not been accused of
wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
