Former business partner of Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas is expected to plead guilty to charges for illegal campaign contributions and conspiracy to defraud investors
A former associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is expected to plead guilty to charges for conspiring to defraud investors and make illegal campaign contributions on Thursday.
David Correia is scheduled to appear at a change-of-plea hearing via video in Manhattan federal court, indicating that he intends to switch his plea from not guilty to guilty.
If it occurs as planned, Correia would become the first conviction among four men charged last year with using straw donors to make illegal contributions to politicians they thought could aid their political and business interests.
In September, an updated indictment charged Correia and co-defendant Lev Parnas with defrauding investors in the business they founded together, Fraud Guarantee.
A superseding indictment also charged Correia with additional campaign finance violations.
David Correia, former associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is expected to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy to make illegal campaign contributions on Thursday. Correia is pictured leaving Manhattan federal court following a hearing last fall
Prosecutors said Correia and Parnas conspired to entice investors to inject more than $2million into their company - and then spent much of it on rent, car leasing payments, political donations and other expenses.
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.
The indictment said Correia misled investors about the strength of the company and a business model and in some cases used the invested money for personal expenses.
Parnas and Correia also hired Giuliani, a Republican former New York City mayor, to consult with Fraud Guarantee.
Giuliani has said he was promised $500,000 to work with the company.
Fraud Guarantee, a nebulous entity incorporated in Florida, was dissolved by state officials in 2014 after failing to file an annual report.
Correia is set to become the first conviction among four men charged last year with making illegal contributions to politicians they thought could aid their political and business interests. Pictured: Correia's co-defendants Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman
Parnas and Correia hired Rudy Giuliani to consult with Fraud Guarantee. Giuliani (pictured with Parnas) has said he was promised $500,000 to work with the company
Two other men who have pleaded not guilty in the case, Parnas and Igor Fruman, worked with Giuliani to try to get Ukrainian officials to investigate Joe Biden's son while Parnas and Fruman allegedly made sizable illegal campaign contributions to US candidates.
Giuliani has maintained that he knew nothing about the donations.
The Ukrainian quest was a focus of Trump's impeachment proceedings earlier this year.
The president's efforts to press Ukraine for an investigation of the Bidens led the House to impeach Trump, though he was acquitted by the Senate.
Correia is an American-born businessman and former pro-golfer who owns a home with his wife in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Last month, one of his lawyers asked to leave the case and said Correia hadn't paid him.
Parnas entered a not-guilty plea in the fraud case involving the company he founded with Correia. Pictured: Parnas with President Donald Trump
Parnas famously worked with Giuliani to try to get Ukrainian officials to investigate Joe Biden's son Hunter's business dealings in the Ukraine