Tag: Igor Fruman

Prosecutors: More Charges Possible In Case Of Giuliani Associates Parnas, Fruman

Prosecutors could bring more charges in the case of two Soviet-born associates of Rudy Giuliani — although it wasn’t precisely clear when, what or who else might be involved after a conference in New York City on Monday.

Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman face charges of conspiracy, false statements and falsification of records in connection with two alleged schemes to violate U.S. election laws. But it’s their work helping Giuliani dig up dirt in Ukraine that has put the pair under intense public scrutiny.

And a superseding indictment — which could add to or modify the existing charges — is likely, prosecutors said on Monday, but also adding that they’re continuing to evaluate the case.

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Brother of Indicted Rudy Giuliani Associate Also Eyed in Campaign Finance Probe: Prosecutor

NEW YORK — The brother of an indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani is also under scrutiny in an ongoing campaign finance probe, a prosecutor said Friday.

During a bail hearing for Igor Fruman in federal court in Manhattan, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos told a judge that Fruman’s brother Steven had initially failed to disclose his interest in a holding company linked to the scheme when he was screened to be a backer of a $1 million bail bond.

Roos said of Steven Fruman: “It appears he could be involved in some of the conduct in the indictment.”

View the complete November 1 article by Tom Hayes from the Associated Press on the Time website here.

Giuliani associate Fruman to remain under house arrest, judge says

Igor Fruman was indicted on charges that he illegally funneled foreign money into U.S. elections, including a pro-Trump Super PAC.

NEW YORK — Igor Fruman, one of two indicted associates of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, will remain on house arrest, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Oetken ruled on Thursday.

Todd Blanche, Fruman’s attorney, had sought to lift the restrictions that required Fruman remain in his home and be subjected to GPS monitoring. Blanche attempted to persuade the judge that Fruman wasn’t attempting to flee when he was arrested Oct. 9 at Dulles International Airport with a one-way ticket to Vienna, making the current bail restrictions onerous.

Fruman has been indicted on charges that he and another Giuliani associate, Lev Parnas, funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in foreign money into U.S. elections, including a pro-Trump Super PAC. Both associates have pleaded not guilty.

View the complete November 1 article by Danielle Muoio on the Politico website here.

How two businessmen hustled to profit from access to Rudy Giuliani and the Trump administration

WASHINGTON, DC (CNN) — Long before they burst onto the national scene with their high-profile arrests at Dulles International Airport earlier this month, Soviet-born businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman were already turning heads in Republican fundraising circles.

“They seemed like hustlers — but not in a bad way. In a good way,” one high-ranking Republican operative familiar with the pair told CNN.

But a CNN review of campaign contributions and court filings, as well as interviews with nearly a dozen people with knowledge of Parnas and Fruman’s interactions, tell a different story. The pair raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars and jetted around the world touting their connections to Giuliani and the Trump administration while pushing for business and favors, even claiming to arrange a Fox News interview, right up until the day they were arrested for conspiracy and campaign-finance related charges.

At one point, they pushed a Ukrainian businessman to pay them to bring Trump administration officials to Ukraine. At another time, they convinced a Florida-based businessman to loan them $100,000 so they could connect him with Giuliani and other prominent conservatives. And in a third instance, they attempted to influence the management board of a Ukrainian gas company.

View the complete October 23 article by Katelyn Polantz, Scott Glover and Vicky Ward on the CNN website here.

Republicans scramble to dispose of campaign cash from Giuliani associates

Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas plead not guilty Wednesday to violating campaign finance laws

Republican lawmakers unwittingly entangled in a campaign finance scandal have scrambled to get rid of contributions from two men at the center of the alleged wrongdoing, both of whom were back in court Wednesday.

Igor Fruman and and Lev Parnas pleaded not guilty to violating campaign finance laws when they appeared in federal court in New York for their arraignment. Fruman, Parnas and two other men were indicted earlier this month for “engaging in a scheme to funnel foreign money to candidates.” The indictment alleged the two men did so to “buy potential influence with the candidates, campaigns, and the candidates’ governments.”

Fruman and Parnas, both Soviet-born U.S. citizens, are also tied to President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. They reportedly assisted with Giuliani’s quest to have the Ukrainian officials investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. Trump’s own push for Ukraine to investigate Biden and the Democratic National Committee is at the center of the ongoing impeachment probe.

View the complete October 23 article by Bridget Bowman on The Roll Call website here.

Prosecutors flagged possible ties between Ukrainian gas tycoon and Giuliani associates

Washington Post logoWhen two business associates of Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s personal lawyer, were arrested this month on charges that they funneled foreign money into U.S. elections, federal prosecutors working on a different case in Chicago took note.

The investigators had previously come across the two men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, as they pursued a long-standing case against a Ukrainian gas tycoon accused of bribery, according to two people familiar with the matter. They, like others interviewed regarding the case, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing litigation.

The Chicago prosecutors reached out to their counterparts in New York, where the foreign money charges had been brought, to offer assistance, the people said.

View the complete October 22 article by Matt Zapotosky, Rosalind S. Helderman, Tom Hamburger and Josh Dawsey on The Washington Post website here.

Two business associates of Trump’s personal attorney Giuliani have been arrested on campaign finance charges

Washington Post logoTwo associates of President Trump’s personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani have been arrested on charges they schemed to funnel foreign money to U.S. politicians while trying to influence U.S.-Ukraine relations, according to a newly unsealed indictment.

The two men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who had been helping Giuliani investigate Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden, were arrested Wednesday evening at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, where they had one-way tickets on a flight out of the country, officials said.

Parnas and Fruman have been under investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan. After a court appearance Thursday in Alexandria, Va., the pair were approved for release on $1 million bond each, under the condition they remain at their Florida homes with GPS monitoring and third-party custodians. They will remain in jail until those conditions are met. They did not enter a plea to the charges.

View the complete October 10 article by Devlin Barrett, John Wagner and Rosalind S. Helderman on The Washington Post website here.