Prosecutors had charged that the defendants, Jia Hou, a former Liu campaign treasurer, and Xing Wu Pan, a fund-raiser, relied on so-called straw donors — people whose contributions are reimbursed by others — to raise money and use some of it to obtain city matching funds.
Lawyers for both defendants had asked that their clients avoid prison, even though most of the counts that they were found guilty of carried 20-year maximum terms. Prosecutors requested as much as 30 months for Ms. Hou and as much as 14 months for Mr. Pan.
Judge Richard J. Sullivan of Federal District Court in Manhattan gave Mr. Pan a 4-month sentence, and Ms. Hou a 10-month term.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors had sought to portray the Liu campaign as condoning, if not outright orchestrating, questionable practices intended to maximize fund-raising, and that the two defendants’ actions merely fit into a larger pattern. Mr. Liu, who finished fourth in the Democratic primary for mayor, was not charged with a crime.
Ms. Hou, who goes by Jenny, was acquitted of conspiracy, but was convicted for her role in a straw-donor scheme. She was also found guilty of lying to federal agents and obstruction of justice. Mr. Pan, who goes by Oliver, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and attempted wire fraud in relation to a straw-donor scheme.
Yahoo Local News – New York Times
http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info/?p=15433
via Great Local News: New York http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info
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