Giuliani’s partner Igor Fruman pleads guilty to solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national

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Fruman, 56, pleaded guilty to soliciting a contribution by a foreign national. He faces up to five years in prison.

His plea did not include a cooperation agreement with the government.

Fruman had faced several charges. He and another associate of Giuliani, Lev Parnas, were initially indicted in October 2019. They were charged with conspiracy to violate the ban on foreign donations in federal and state elections, misrepresentation and falsifying records in the Federal Election Commission. They pleaded not guilty.

In September 2020, prosecutors filed additional charges that appeared designed to increase pressure on defendants to cooperate. Fruman and Parnas also pleaded not guilty to these charges.

Parnas is due to be tried in October.

Fruman told the judge on Friday that two years ago, as he tried to start a business to buy cannabis licenses in states that legalize drugs, he was in contact with a potential investor who was a national. foreigner. He said he sent the potential investor a list of possible donations to politicians in the states concerned, a step that constituted a solicitation of contributions.

“I deeply regret my actions and apologize to the court,” Fruman said.

The case against Fruman and Parnas first gained attention because the couple once had a close working relationship with Giuliani when he was the personal lawyer for former President Donald Trump. In 2019, Parnas and Fruman helped Giuliani collect damaging information in Ukraine about then-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden, who was on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

While Parnas and Fruman had touted their closeness to Trump before facing federal charges, they have since strayed from his orbit and he has claimed to know little about them.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors have investigated Giuliani’s activities in Ukraine, including whether he carried out illegal lobbying activities for Ukrainian officials while he continued a Biden-related investigation, CNN reported. In April, federal agents executed search warrants in Giuliani’s apartment and office, and in recent weeks a retired federal judge has reviewed documents seized during the searches to determine if they were protected.

Giuliani has denied committing any wrongdoing.

The judge set Fruman’s sentence for January 21.

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