Lev Parnas, an associate of President Trump's lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, is facing new charges of defrauding investors in a company he claimed would offer fraud protection services.
The company was called Fraud Guarantee. Federal prosecutors allege that Parnas and another man, David Correia, were able to secure $2 million from investors between 2012 and 2019. The men allegedly used this money for personal expenses, including luxury car payments and rent. "We couldn't say it better ourselves — the behavior alleged today is indeed fraudulent — guaranteed," FBI Assistant Director Bill Sweeney said in a statement.
Last October, Parnas was charged with funneling foreign money to U.S. political campaigns; he pleaded not guilty. Additionally, federal prosecutors say Parnas and another associate, Igor Fruman, were involved in an attempt to remove former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch from her position. Giuliani has admitted that Parnas and Fruman helped him in Ukraine as he tried to find dirt on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.