The Justice Department said Wednesday that Lev Parnas, a businessman involved in the Trump-Ukraine case, was sentenced to 20 months in prison on multiple charges related to soliciting donations from a foreign national. .

Parnas was found guilty of “conspiring to make political contributions by a foreign national with solicitation and aiding and abetting to do the same, conspiring to make straw donations, participating in a wire fraud conspiracy, and making false statements and falsifying records. Parnas will also pay more than $2 million in restitution.

The accusations of political contributions by a foreign national stem from events that occurred in March 2018. Parnas and other associates wanted to start a business to obtain marijuana retail licenses in the United States. The group made hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions ahead of the 2018 election to curry favor with anyone who could help Parnas and his associates secure those licenses.

Parnas and an associate donated $325,000 and falsely claimed the donation was from Global Energy Producers (GEP). Parnas also lied that he received straw donations and that the contributions were not with his own money.

The fraud guarantee charges are between 2012 and 2019. Parnas conspired to defraud several people by convincing them to invest in his business. He said the contributions would be used only for his business. Instead, payments were withdrawn in cash, placed in personal bank accounts, and used for personal expenses.

Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said “Parnas also defrauded the American public by pumping Russian money into US elections and lying about the source of funds for political contributions. My office will continue to vigorously pursue those who put their personal and financial gain above their country and their investors. »

The bureau’s public corruption unit is handling Parnas’ case.