Headline USANew YorkPolitics

Lev Parnas is hit with new federal fraud charges

[ad_1]

Businessman who worked with Rudy Giuliani to dig up ‘dirt’ on Joe Biden is hit with new federal fraud charges claiming he scammed investors with his startup called ‘Fraud Guarantee’

  • Lev Parnas was charged with conspiring to defraud investors with a startup company called ‘Fraud Guarantee’ 
  • The superseding indictment also charged David Correia, a former associated of Rudy Giuliani 
  • Prosecutors say that Parnas and Correia lied to at least seven investors and siphoned the money for personal expenses
  • This included hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent for Parnas’ personal residence and tens of thousands of dollars at luxury car leasing companies
  • Parnas and Igor Fruman were charged with violating the ban on political donations by foreign nationals

Federal prosecutors have hit Lev Parnas with fresh charges, accusing him of defrauding investors in a startup company called ‘Fraud Guarantee.’

The charge was announced on Friday by Audrey Strauss, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in a superseding indictment that also levies new charges against Parnas’ associate David Correia. 

Parnas, along with his associate Igor Fruman, were originally charged in October of 2019 with planning to direct funds from foreign nationals to U.S. politicians while trying to influence U.S.-Ukraine relations, prosecutors said.

Federal prosecutors have hit Lev Parnas (above) with fresh charges, accusing him of defrauding investors in a startup company called ‘Fraud Guarantee’

Pictured: Lev Parnas

Pictured: Igor Fruman

Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman (left to right) were charged with violating the ban on political donations by foreign nationals in October 2019

Parnas and Fruman famously assisted Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, in his freelance investigation into allegations of corruption involving Joe Biden’s dealings in Ukraine when he was vice president.

The new charges stem from Parnas’ startup, Fraud Guarantee, a nebulous entity incorporated in Florida, which was dissolved by state officials in 2014 after failing to file an annual report.

Fraud Guarantee promised to offer an insurance product that would allow policyholders to recoup their losses in the event they lost money due to fraudulent conduct, but the company never got a product to market.

Lev Parnas (left) helped Rudy Giuliani in his investigation into Joe Biden's dealing in Ukraine when he served as vice president

Lev Parnas (left) helped Rudy Giuliani in his investigation into Joe Biden’s dealing in Ukraine when he served as vice president

Pictured: World Food Program USA Board Chairman Hunter Biden (left) and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (right) attend the World Food Program USA's Annual McGovern-Dole Leadership Award Ceremony at Organization of American States on

Pictured: World Food Program USA Board Chairman Hunter Biden (left) and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (right) attend the World Food Program USA’s Annual McGovern-Dole Leadership Award Ceremony at Organization of American States on

Pictured: President Donald Trump (left) posing with Lev Parnas (right)

Pictured: President Donald Trump (left) posing with Lev Parnas (right)

In the superseding indictment unsealed on Friday, prosecutors say that Parnas and Correia lied to at least seven investors, telling them their investments would be used to build the business, but instead siphoning off cash for personal expenses.

Prosecutors say those personal expenses included hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent for Parnas’ personal residence and tens of thousands of dollars at luxury car leasing companies. 

The investments involved in the scam totaled more than $2 million, according to the indictment. 

Developing story, more to follow. 

[ad_2]

Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *