Giuliani associate expected to change plea to guilty in campaign finance case

Igor Fruman, an associate of former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, is expected to plead guilty this week in his indictment on campaign finance fraud charges, according to an electronic court filing made public on Monday.

An “in-person change of plea hearing” is scheduled for Wednesday at a courtroom in Manhattan, according to the court filing. It does not, however, note if the new plea comes with a cooperation agreement.

Reuters noted that a “change of plea” typically signals an impending guilty plea.

Former Rudy Giuliani associate Igor Fruman is pleading guilty in the federal case that accuses him of being part of a scheme to evade campaign finance laws that prohibit contributions from foreign nationals. Previously: https://t.co/7qH8oE8q0s pic.twitter.com/HSE8v5vFF8

— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) August 23, 2021

Fruman, along with his business partner Lev Parnas, was arrested and charged in October 2019 on accusations that they directed foreign money to U.S. campaigns, including to a political action committee supportive of former President Trump. The money was reportedly meant to increase support for a potential marijuana business.

Parnas and Fruman were detained at the Dulles International Airport outside Washington, where they had one-way tickets for a flight to Vienna. Both pleaded not guilty.

A third man, Andrey Kukushkin, was also accused to playing a role in the scheme.

Nearly a year later, in September 2020, prosecutors announced additional charges against Parnas and a fourth man, David Correia, on claims that they deceived investors into giving them more than $2 million between 2012 and 2019 for a project they said would supply fraud protection services, NBC News reported.

Instead, however, those funds were allegedly put into their personal accounts.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to those charges as well.

Correia pleaded guilty in October to defrauding investors and making false statements to the Federal Elections Commission, NBC News reported.

Fruman’s potential guilty plea could cause trouble for Giuliani, who is the subject of a criminal investigation by Manhattan federal prosecutors probing if the former Trump aide illegally lobbied his administration on behalf of Ukrainian oligarchs — the same individuals helping him find dirt on Trump’s political foes, including then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Giuliani has denied any wrongdoing.

Fruman and Parnas were closely connected to Giuliani prior to their indictments, according to CNN, reportedly helping Giuliani in his mission in Ukraine to find damning information on Biden.