Former Giuliani associate Lev Parnas to plead guilty to conspiracy: report

Lev Parnas will plead guilty to conspiracy related to his work with a fraud insurance company, where he associated with colleagues including former Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Reuters reports.

Parnas on Thursday asked to change his plea from not guilty to guilty.

“​​Mr. Parnas believes the time is right for him now to accept responsibility,” Parnas’s lawyer, Joseph Bondy, said.

Parnas was convicted of campaign finance charges in October after paying for the favor of 2018 midterm election candidates with money that is linked to Russian businessman Andrey Muraviev.

Parnas and associate David Correia are accused of leading people to invest over $2 million in their company, Fraud Guarantee, and then using some of the money for personal and political purposes.

Giuliani, who denies breaking the law, claims he worked for Fraud Guarantee for a salary of $500,000.

U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken, who received Parnas’s change-of-plea request Thursday, had denied earlier requests from Parnas and associate Andrey Kukushkin to overturn their convictions altogether.

Parnas’s former business partner Igor Fruman pleaded guilty to a campaign finance violation in January and was sentenced to a year and one day in prison. Correia pleaded guilty to a violation as well and received the same sentence.

The sentencing date for Parnas is yet to be determined.