Feds Say New Indictment Is 'Likely' in Campaign-Finance Case Against Giuliani-Linked Defendants
A federal prosecutor in Manhattan said Monday that a new indictment was "likely" in the criminal campaign-finance case against two associates of Rudy Giuliani.
December 02, 2019 at 04:55 PM
4 minute read
An assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York said Monday that a new indictment was "likely" in the criminal campaign-finance case against two associates of Rudy Giuliani.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Zolkind—answering a question posed by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken of the Southern District of New York—confirmed that the investigation into defendants Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman remained ongoing, but declined to comment any further in open court.
"We think a superseding indictment is likely, but no decision has been made," Zolkind said. "It's something we're continuing to evaluate."
Attorneys for Parnas and Fruman, meanwhile, said they had not yet seen much of the evidence that had been collected through "voluminous discovery" in the case, which accuses both men, and two other associates, of engaging in a scheme to violate U.S. campaign-finance laws.
According to a four-count indictment, Parnas and Fruman allegedly conspired to funnel foreign money to candidates for state and federal office in order to buy influence among lawmakers and state governments. Both men are former clients of Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who has come under fire recently for his role in alleged efforts by President Donald Trump to have the Ukrainian government interfere in the 2020 U.S. election.
Giuliani has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Congressional impeachment investigators however are scrutinizing the former New York City mayor's dealings in Ukraine, and, according to reporting of the New York Times, prosecutors in the Southern District have been probing his connections with Parnas and Fruman.
Co-defendants Andrey Kukushkin and David Correia were also charged with one count each of conspiracy in the case.
Zolkind said the government had seized 12 electronic devices from Parnas, including five iPhones, two iPads, a MacBook, a hard drive and two other phones either during his arrest in October or during a later search of his home. Among the devices taken from Fruman were two iPhones, a satellite phone, three thumb drives and a cell phone, Zolkind said.
Prosecutors have also subpoenaed phone, bank and internet records and carried out multiple search warrants for email accounts and electronic devices.
Defense attorneys for the four men, however, decried delays in accessing evidence that the government had collected against their clients, and floated measure to expedite production.
"We have no sense of this case," said attorney Gerald B. Lefcourt, who represents Kukushkin.
"We have no idea how much time its going to take to get through all this stuff," he said.
Zolkind responded that the U.S. Attorney's Office was in the process of scanning paper documents and planned to return them to defense counsel as soon as possible. He also said the government had requested passwords for electronic devices, which would help the process move along more swiftly.
Oetken declined to grant defense requests to speed up production, but noted that the bulk of evidence would be returned to the defendants within 60 days. He set the conference in the case for Feb. 3.
Of the four defendants, only Parnas was present Monday in the courtroom. His attorney, Joseph Bondy, reiterated that his client was planning to comply with the House Judiciary Committee, which had subpoenaed Parnas for documents that were currently in the government's possession.
Zolkind said prosecutors would not object to an order that certain documents be turned over to Congress, and Oetken said he expected to grant the request.
Fruman, Correia and Kukushkin all waived their appearances and were excused from attending Monday's hearing.
Fruman is represented by Todd Blanche of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, and Correia is represented by William Joseph Harrington of Goodwin Procter.
Read More:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllFrom ‘Deep Sadness’ to Little Concern, Gaetz’s Nomination Draws Sharp Reaction From Lawyers
7 minute readTrump Picks Personal Criminal Defense Lawyers for Solicitor General, Deputy Attorney General
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Gibson Dunn Sued By Crypto Client After Lateral Hire Causes Conflict of Interest
- 2Trump's Solicitor General Expected to 'Flip' Prelogar's Positions at Supreme Court
- 3Pharmacy Lawyers See Promise in NY Regulator's Curbs on PBM Industry
- 4Outgoing USPTO Director Kathi Vidal: ‘We All Want the Country to Be in a Better Place’
- 5Supreme Court Will Review Constitutionality Of FCC's Universal Service Fund
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250