David Correia walks from federal court in New York. | Craig Ruttle/AP Photo
A Florida entrepreneur is the first defendant to plead guilty in a campaign finance and business fraud case involving associates of Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and attorney for President Donald Trump.
David Correia, 45, pleaded guilty Thursday to two felony counts: one of making false statements to the Federal Election Commission and one of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The case against Correia and three other men — Lev Parnas, Igor Fruman and David Kukushkin — has drawn widespread attention because Parnas and Fruman worked closely with Giuliani on various issues related to Ukraine, including an attempt to oust then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. She was recalled from her post in May 2019, amid complaints from Trump allies that she was refusing to advance efforts to pressure the Ukrainians to announce an investigation into a Trump rival who is now the Democratic nominee for president, former Vice President Joe Biden.
Witnesses and sources close to the case have confirmed that investigators explored Giuliani’s dealings with the men who were charged, but the status of that probe is unclear.
The first charge Correia admitted to stems from false statements made to the Federal Election Commission about a $325,000 donation sent to the America First Action super PAC in May 2018 from a company called Global Energy Producers. After a complaint was filed, Correia submitted an affidavit to the commission that contended the company was a bona fide player in the energy sector and made other claims about the firm that he now concedes were false.
An attorney for Giuliani, Robert Costello, told POLITICO he believes the developments Thursday signal that the government’s investigation has just about wrapped up and there’s little interest in his client.
“I can’t honestly say there was ever really an investigation, as most people would understand that term, involving Rudy Giuliani,” the attorney said. “Theoretically, when you investigate something like this and Rudy Giuliani has anything to do with these people — and he did at least with the Fraud Guarantee part — you would want to investigate and ask questions about that but it’s clear they don’t have anything.”
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Article URL : https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/29/florida-bussinessman-fraud-giuliani-case-433610