[ April 26, 2024 ]
From 2012 through 2016, Imaad Zuberia spent millions on behalf of foreign governments and foreign agents to “implement changes to United States foreign policy,” until the Trump administration nabbed him.
Imaad Zuberi pled guilty to a variety of illegal activities surrounding campaign contributions, political influence, and unregistered lobbying on behalf of foreign clients.
The DOJ and FBI were investigating Mr. Zuberi since 2014 and 2015, but for some reason the Obama administration never brought charges.
This DOJ announcement is alarming on many levels. Imaad Zuberi, a 49-year-old resident of Arcadia, California, has agreed to plead guilty to a variety of illegal activities surrounding campaign contributions, political influence, and unregistered lobbying on behalf of foreign clients. Mr. Zuberi was under DOJ, FBI and IRS investigation since 2015
[…]
However, while the lack of charges against Zuberi, perhaps related to the contributions the Obama and Clinton teams were gaining, allowed Zuberi to continue his malicious effort; after Donald Trump won the 2016 election, Mr. Zuberi turned his influence efforts toward the incoming Trump administration (Conservative Treehouse)
Zuberi delivered $615,000 to Hillary Clinton’s joint fundraising committee, Hillary Victory Fund and reportedly contributed between $250,000 and $500,000 to the Clinton Foundation. He gave $102,135 to the Obama Victory Fund in 2008 & bundled $500,000 for Obama in 2012.
— Hunter (@Hunter_Tylerr) October 22, 2019
Wow. Can't believe @BarackObama allowed a #ImaadZuberi, a foreign agent, to be the co-chair of his national finance committee for his inauguration🧐 Thank God for @realDonaldTrump's @TheJusticeDept finally holding these people accountable.https://t.co/64GV2GOIA8 pic.twitter.com/WtDrkRTiYi
— Rosie Memos (@almostjingo) October 22, 2019
Campaign Fundraiser Agrees To Plead Guilty To Falsifying Records to Conceal Work as Foreign Agent, Evading Taxes on Income Obtained by Lobbying on Behalf of Foreign Entities, and Illegal Campaign Contributions
By Department of Justice, October 23, 2019:Federal prosecutors today filed a criminal case charging Imaad Shah Zuberi, a Southern California campaign fundraiser, with falsifying records to conceal his work as a foreign agent while lobbying high-level U.S. government officials. The criminal charges allege that Zuberi engaged in lobbying efforts that earned him millions of dollars, most of which was pilfered from his clients, and Zuberi has agreed to plead guilty to those charges at a later date, pursuant to a plea agreement.
“This case should deter individuals who seek to provide false statements to the Department and covertly influence our political process on behalf of foreign governments,” said Assistant Attorney General of National Security John C. Demers. “Through misrepresentations in his FARA filing, Mr. Zuberi attempted to deceive our elected officials and the American public on behalf of Sri Lanka. The Department of Justice treats these crimes with the gravity that they deserve and will continue to aggressively identify, investigate and prosecute FARA violations.”
“Mr. Zuberi’s multi-faceted scheme allowed him to line his pockets by concealing the fact that he was representing foreign clients, obtaining access for clients by making a long series of illegal contributions, and skimming money paid by his clients,” said United States Attorney Nick Hanna. “Mr. Zuberi circumvented laws designed to insulate U.S. policy and our election process from foreign intervention. This investigation has halted his illegal conduct, will result in several felony convictions, and could send him to prison for a lengthy period of time.”
“American influence is not for sale,” said Paul Delacourt, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Mr. Zuberi lured individuals who were seeking political influence in violation of U.S. law, and in the process, enriched himself by defrauding those with whom he interacted.”
“Mr. Zuberi was the primary organizer of paid political efforts to mold the opinion of political officials, including members of Congress, to benefit Sri Lanka. Instead, he used shell business entities to divert millions of dollars for his own personal use,” stated Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Korner of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Today’s announcement of Mr. Zuberi’s anticipated guilty plea to tax and campaign finance violations demonstrates IRS-CI’s continued commitment to work alongside our federal law enforcement partners to ensure the system remains fair for everyone.”
In addition to violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), Zuberi is charged in a criminal information with tax evasion and making almost $1 million in illegal campaign contributions that included funneling money from foreign entities and individuals to influence U.S. elections.
Zuberi, a 49-year-old resident of Arcadia, California, has agreed to plead guilty to the three counts in the information. A plea agreement also filed today in United States District Court notes that Zuberi faces a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison once he pleads guilty to the charges.
Zuberi, who operated a venture capital firm called Avenue Ventures, solicited foreign nationals and representatives of foreign governments with claims he could use his influence in Washington, D.C. to change United States foreign policy and create business opportunities for his clients and himself. According to court documents, clients gave Zuberi money for consulting fees, to make investments, or to fund campaign contributions. As part of his efforts to influence public policy, Zuberi hired lobbyists, retained public relations professionals and made campaign contributions – which gave him access to high-level U.S. officials, some of whom took action in support of his clients. As evidence of his access and influence, Zuberi distributed to his clients photographs of himself discussing policy with elected officials.
While some U.S. officials were willing to take action on issues Zuberi put forward, most of Zuberi’s business efforts were unsuccessful and his clients suffered significant losses. Many of the lobbyists, public relations consultants, and other subcontractors also suffered losses when Zuberi refused to pay them, according to the information. Zuberi, on the other hand, became wealthy, primarily as the result of fraudulent representations about his background, influence, and the use of client funds, much of which constituted an “outright conversion of client money for defendant Zuberi’s own personal benefit,” the information states.
The information details dozens of illegal campaign contributions – including those paid by Zuberi using the names of other people, “conduit contributions” made by others that Zuberi reimbursed, and contributions to U.S. political campaigns that were financed by foreign entities and individuals.
The information further states that Zuberi accepted money from two foreign companies with promises that the funds would be used to contribute to political campaigns, but Zuberi took the vast majority of the money – more than $1.1 million – for his own personal use.
The information details other aspects of Zuberi’s scheme through which he personally profited. Zuberi mounted efforts to convince the government of Bahrain to lift sanctions on a citizen of Bahrain in connection with the development of a large resort in that country. The scheme falsely created the appearance that Avenue Ventures had made a major investment in the Bahrain project. Zuberi lobbied members of Congress to apply political pressure on Bahrain to cease its interference in the project, claiming that it was adversely affecting him as a U.S. investor. In fact, Zuberi designed these efforts to assist the citizen of Bahrain. Zuberi illegally received compensation for these efforts because he failed to register as a foreign agent of the Bahraini citizen.
Zuberi also converted to his own benefit money invested in U.S. Cares, a company established to export humanitarian items to Iran, according to the information. In 2013 and 2014, investors put approximately $7 million into U.S. Cares, but Zuberi used over 90 percent of the investor funds for his personal benefit – to purchase real estate, pay down mortgages, remodel properties, invest in brokerage accounts, donate $250,000 to a non-profit organization established by a former high-ranking elected official, and pay down personal credit card debt, according to court documents.
In 2014, Zuberi entered into a contract with the government of Sri Lanka to rehabilitate Sri Lanka’s image in the United States, which had suffered as a result of allegations of persecution of the country’s minority Tamil population. Zuberi promised to make substantial expenditures on lobbying efforts, legal expenses and media buys, which prompted Sri Lanka to agree to pay Zuberi a total of $8.5 million over the course of six months in 2014. According to court documents, days after Sri Lanka made an initial payment of $3.5 million, Zuberi transferred $1.6 million into his personal brokerage accounts and used another $1.5 million to purchase real estate.
The information alleges that Sri Lanka wired a total of $6.5 million pursuant to the contract, and Zuberi directed more than $5.65 million of that money to the benefit of himself and his spouse. Zuberi paid less than $850,000 to lobbyists, public relations firms and law firms, and certain subcontractors did not receive full payment after Zuberi falsely claimed that Sri Lanka had not provided sufficient funds to pay invoices, according to the information.
In relation to the FARA charge in the information, Zuberi agreed to plead guilty to submitting false registration statements in which he concealed his direction of the Sri Lanka lobbying effort, as well as the millions of dollars he received.
In relation to the tax charge in the information, Zuberi agreed to plead guilty to one count of tax evasion for failing to report on his 2014 tax return millions of dollars in income he received from Sri Lanka. While the 2014 income tax return claimed income of $558,233, Zuberi failed to report more than $5.65 million he received in relation to the Sri Lanka lobbying effort. Zuberi admits in his plea agreement that his tax evasion over the course of four years – 2012 through 2015 – caused tax losses of at least $3.5 million and as much as $9.5 million.
In relation to the campaign finance charge, Zuberi agreed to plead guilty to a charge of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act in 2015 by making conduit contributions in the names of other people, reimbursing contributions made by others, and being reimbursed for contributions he made. In his plea agreement, Zuberi admits that over a five-year period – 2012 through 2016 – he made or solicited more than $250,000 in illegal campaign contributions.
Zuberi is expected to make his initial appearance in this case in United States District Court on October 30.
This matter is being investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel J. O’Brien and Elisa Fernandez of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section with support from the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the National Security Division.
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28 Comments
4 years ago
The Democratic Party CORRUPTION is beyond belief!Truly a swamp of corruption. You know why? Because the main stream media never questioned their corruption and covered up for them for many decades! When they media is corrupted politicians are corrupted.
4 years ago
Reply to
NonieD
Thank you Ms. D. Of course you are correct…..and like felix, always look forward to your articles and insight here on the GR !!
4 years ago
Muslim working day and night to destroy usa from inside and projecting themselves as progressive when they are most regressive people in world
4 years ago
Islam is the third most prevalent religion in the country
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka#Religion
4 years ago
Reply to
livingengine
A (but only a) consequence of the recent polls claiming more and more young people are not religious, i.e. turning away from Christianity.
4 years ago
Reply to
Patriotic American
Sri Lanka is 70% Buddhist, followed by Hindus. A distant third is moslems (the vilest of ALL creatures) at 9.7%. Christianity comes in at number four with 7.4% of the population.
4 years ago
Reply to
Patriotic American
Common Core was put into U.S. schools to indoctrinate school kids to Islam just as the children in Europe have been indoctrinated to it when they welcome Muslims to their countries singing in Arabic or whatever other language the “immigrants” / invaders into their countries originate.
4 years ago
‘Zuberi delivered $615,000 to Hillary Clinton’s joint fundraising committee’ LOL, his Iranian Shitite handlers must’ve taken a bath on that.
4 years ago
Reply to
MuhamMUDTheFakeProphet
And what did they get for it under Trump?
NOTHING!
Smile.
4 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
Exactly, you have to wonder what kind of pressure the Iranian shitites are applying to the Clintonistas for failing to deliver their promised Washington influence.
4 years ago
It’s somewhat interesting that Sri Lanka is 70% Buddhist, followed by Hindu, and a distant third is moslem (the vilest of ALL creatures), which isn’t too much above the Christian population. All but forgotten is the moslems brutally murdering and grievously injuring SO many Christians … Easter week.
But, Shah Zuberi is definitely a moslem (the vilest of ALL creatures) name, with the surname “Zuberi” originating in mecca.
Once again …. moslems
4 years ago
“American influence is not for sale”
.
Unless the democrats are in the majority ..!
4 years ago
What the h3ll is Sauros then, if not a foreign agent interfering in hundreds of countries across the globe??
4 years ago
I never liked Osama Barak boom boom Botswana. I don’t trust halfes. Even the duchess of sux at it. Nup. Never. Nada.
4 years ago
This slime ball was under just one of the big flat rocks that Trump is turning over every day.
And that is the reason the obama-Clinton treason junta is in such a frenzy to destroy Trump.
NOT, “simply because they hate him,” or whatever other punch Sean Hannity pulls this time.
It’s because they’re all complicit in selling out America for thirty years for their own quid pro quo — Democrats and scores upon scores of RINOS.
4 years ago
Off topic –
We’ll stop PAYING Donald Trump staffers who refuse to comply with impeachment inquiry, Democrats threaten – even though it has only worked once before House Democrats are floating using a provision to withhold pay from those who don’t comply with the impeachment inquiry
* It outlines in the annual Financial Services spending bill, that pay can be held if officials prevent federal employees from speaking with lawmakers
* Vice President Mike Pence and Energy Secretary Rick Perry said last week that they would not comply with the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry
* The provision has been used twice in his 22-year history, but was only successfully enacted once
By KATELYN CARALLE, U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 18:01 EDT, 23 October 2019 | UPDATED: 18:59 EDT, 23 October 2019
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7606651/Dems-threaten-stop-PAYING-Trump-staffers-refuse-comply-impeachment-inquiry.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed
It’s not an official impeachment inquiry. Nancy has yet to call a vote. Once she actually does that everything must be public…. This is why she keeps it an DEM controlled “Intelligence Committee” and not where it should be in the JUDICIARY who would be forced to dismiss it. It’s illegal and there is no “quid pro quo”. You just can’t have that says the DEM party of fake transparency! I thought the demoncrappers were against quid pro quo or maybe extortion is more appropriate? I’d like to see that 40 million for the original Russia farce reimbursed. Ideally if you can’t make your case you should be forced to reimburse the opposition. How many lives were destroyed by that?
4 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
Definitely Gen. Mike Flynn and Roger Stone should get millions back for all that they lost as well as who knows how many others. The corrupt MSM, especially CNN, should have to pay part of that.
4 years ago
But…but…but…Hussein Obama said there was “not a smidgen of corruption in his administration”….LOL.
All this Mueller Russian crap, Ukraine, the spying on Trump….EVERYTHING leads To the Kenyan.
4 years ago
Remember when the Halfrican said his administration did not have one “smidgen” of corruption? Without expending great effort we are learning he had a whole sh*tpot load of “smidgens”.
4 years ago
4 years ago
4 years ago
Why is this Major Clinton/Obama Fundraising corruption and treason not surprising? Those of us not sucked into the vacuousness were always savvy to the never-ending corruption or sedition of this cabal’s never-ending corruption and subversion enacted by this bottomfeeding confederacy. More so, nothing will stick to the likes of the Clinton, Obama Klan; the enablers within the so-called judiciary, the FBI and others as they, too, are equally culpable.
4 years ago
As Obama will continuously repeat with a full chorus from the Dog Fart Media, “My Administration was 100% scandal free.”
4 years ago
I’m shocked, shocked i tell you. How could a Siri Lanken or any other moslem be guilty of corruption?
The root of the hate against President Trump is that so many government officials took corruption from islam to grease the way for the enemy agent obama into the White house. They are guilty of high treason and are fighting President Trump for their lives.
4 years ago
Reply to
jerrys
Well, look at the Awan brothers who had access to the computers of so many DemonicRats for so many years. Any crimes levied against them or Debbie Schultz Wasserman yet? I haven’t read about it.
