‘Mercenary’ donor gets 12 years in campaign finance scheme
LOS ANGELES ( AP) — A once high-flying political fundraiser who prosecutors said gave illegal campaign contributions to Joe Biden, Lindsey Graham and a host of other U.S. politicians was sentenced Thursday to 12 years behind bars.
Imaad Zuberi, who was accused of ingratiating himself with politicos in both major parties and peddling the resulting influence to foreign governments, pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion, campaign finance violations and failing to register as a foreign agent.
He also was ordered to pay nearly $16 million in restitution and a nearly $2 million fine. Federal prosecutors described Zuberi, who reports to prison May 25, as a “mercenary” political donor who gave to anyone he thought could help him. Pay to play, he explained to clients, was just “how America work(s).”
Prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips for a stiff sentence, calling the scope of Zuberi’s scheme unprecedented. The Los Angeles businessman’s crimes included unregistered lobbying for governments with spotty human rights records like Sri Lanka and Turkey as well as a Ukrainian oligarch close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, prosecutors said.
Phillips noted the sophistication of Zuberi’s straw donor scheme and also spoke of the role such campaign finance investigations play in preserving the integrity of American elections.
The sentence comes after former President Donald Trump recently pardoned others who had been convicted or pleaded guilty to similar foreign-influence-related crimes, including his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and Elliott Broidy, a major Trump fundraiser.
Zuberi’s hefty sentence “sent a loud message that we have to stop such conduct to restore the public faith in our institutions,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. O’Brien told The Associated Press.
“This case shows that foreign influence extends well beyond what has been frequently discussed in public discourse,” he added.
Zuberi, 50, maintained that his wrongdoing had been limited and asked to be credited for years of cooperation with
federal and local law enforcement. His attorneys noted he already has paid more than $10 million in restitution.
“I’m deeply sorry and, of course, humiliated,” Zuberi told the judge. “I have no excuse for what I’ve done.”
Some of Zuberi’s cooperation remains under seal. Phillips, citing national security interests, closed the courtroom for part of Thursday’s proceedings to discuss classified information Zuberi filed in an effort to reduce his sentence. Zuberi’s attorneys asked Phillips to credit him for a list of law enforcement leads and intelligence he provided to the federal government, according to people familiar with the court filings.
Zuberi, a Pakistani-American who has extensive business dealings overseas, was in frequent contact with a CIA officer over the years and bragged to associates of his ties to the intelligence community, the AP reported last year.
The sentencing came just days after hundreds of pages of previously sealed court filings in the case were made public at the behest of the AP and other media organizations.
The trove of court documents offered
new details about how prosecutors unraveled Zuberi’s scheme and also include photographs of him rubbing shoulders with then-Vice President Biden and other prominent officeholders.
Zuberi had been planning to assist federal authorities in a corruption investigation of an unnamed mayor in California, his attorneys wrote in a newly unsealed memo. He was even “preparing at an FBI office for a recorded conversation” when that effort was called off after news broke that federal prosecutors in New York were investigating the $900,000 contribution Zuberi made to Trump’s inaugural committee, the records say. Zuberi has admitted obstructing that federal investigation.
Portions of the newly unsealed documents were redacted, in part, because of ongoing criminal investigations. Prosecutors revealed last year that there is an investigation into Zuberi’s ties to Qatar. Zuberi secretly lobbied the Trump White House and Congress on behalf of the small gas-rich monarchy, which has paid him $9.8 million, prosecutors have alleged in court papers.
The documents also demonstrate how
Zuberi built a widespread network of contacts, thanks in part to his prodigious political giving. That included six-figure donations to the Obama-Biden ticket in 2012 and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016.
No one who accepted tainted money from Zuberi has been accused of wrongdoing, and Biden, through a spokesman, has said he had no knowledge of Zuberi’s illegal acts when they met, mostly at donor roundtables when Biden was vice president.
The new records show that Zuberi donated to or hired several Washington advocacy groups, lobbying shops and public relations firms. He also had well-connected people on his payroll for various business projects, including former NATO supreme commander Gen. Wesley Clark.
Emails obtained by the AP show Zuberi sought Clark’s help for work related to a company owned by Dmitry Firtash, a Putin-friendly oligarch fighting extradition to the United States on federal bribery and racketeering charges. Prosecutors say Zuberi made $1 million doing unregistered lobbying work for Firtash. Zuberi has said the money was for legitimate business transactions.
Clark did not respond to requests for comment.
The AP previously reported that Zuberi used a straw donor scheme in which he paid for others’ donations with his credit cards and used cutouts that included a dead person and names of people prosecutors say he made up. The AP’s investigation found several instances where Zuberi-linked donations to members of Congress occurred within a few weeks or even days of him receiving something he sought in return.
For example, Zuberi gave $5,200 to U.S. Rep. Tony Cardenas around the time his office sent an official letter in late 2013 to the National Archives expressing support for a Zuberi associate seeking to do business there, according to emails obtained by the AP.
“This is why you are getting the letter,” Zuberi wrote to his associate. “Just want to make sure you realize it.”
Cardenas, a California Democrat, declined to comment.
Yes, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since Feb. 20, 1971, but it’s still hard to believe that Granny Tyree (my father’s mother) has been gone for 50 years.
Oh, I shouldn’t have been caught off-guard. All the joys, sorrows, friendships, jobs, technological innovations and cultural upheavals of five decades leave this former 10-year-old with only hit-and-miss memories of Sarah Elizabeth Gipson Tyree (aka “Sallie Bet”).
Perhaps I’ll consult my older cousins when I write my memoir (“The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tyree”), but right now I’m frustrated that I can’t remember (or worse, never appreciated) Granny’s favorite color, favorite food or the distinctive qualities of her voice.
So, I try to focus on the big picture of how she directly or indirectly (through Dad) shaped the person I am today.
Would I have such a thirst for knowledge if she hadn’t encouraged my father, my uncle and my aunts to get an education? What about if she hadn’t exhibited her love of books, magazines and newspapers? (My mother the workaholic confided that she used to hate visiting her in-laws and finding everyone sitting around - ugh! - READING.)
Would I be a newspaper columnist now if Granny hadn’t gotten me hooked on seeing my youthful witticisms in print by submitting them to the “It Happened Hereabouts” column in the “Nashville Tennessean” Sunday magazine?
Is it pure coincidence that I’m syndicated by Cagle Cartoons, or did Granny’s scrapbook of World War II editorial cartoons plant an idea?
Would I fight so hard to leave an “I was here!” message if not for the diaries Granny kept?
Didn’t my writing of an inspirational book owe a little something to Granny’s religious convictions, which still resonate in descendants undreamed of during her lifetime?
How did I learn to look for the silver linings in life? Perhaps it partly stems from the sense of humor Granny maintained as she faced the cancer that cut her life short just days before her 64th birthday. (I’m still haunted by memories of ultimately futile “cobalt treatments.” But at least Granny could get a chuckle from a hospital roommate who matter-of-factly informed a visitor, “I’ve done had my whole hysterectomy took out!”)
I like to think I’m “paying it forward” when I count to 10 and tolerate some inconvenience caused by my son. After all, Granny did try her best to catch my pet chameleon that ran onto a busy street, and she did dutifully walk visiting grandchildren to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Perhaps I’m overthinking it, but sometimes I dwell on the fact that every day someone else who knew Granny Tyree (or at least shared the planet with her) has passed away.
I know many of my readers are grandparents. If you’ve passed on wisdom, life skills and love, take a bow.
If you HAVEN’T always been the most nurturing person, today is the first day of the rest of your life.
As for younger readers, if your grandparents are deceased, write down the good things you remember about them. It doesn’t have to be Pulitzer-worthy -- just heartfelt.
If you have living grandparents, the crossword puzzle can wait. Text, call or visit right now to let them know how much you cherish their impact on your life.
It may be the least regrettable thing you ever do.