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Politics : THE WHITE HOUSE -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DuckTapeSunroof who wrote (12026)	12/4/2007 2:51:24 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25737

Democratic Fundraiser Hsu Indicted on 15 Counts By REUTERS Published: December 4, 2007 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu was charged on Tuesday with fraud and campaign finance violations for swindling investors out of at least $20 million and making illegal donations to U.S. political campaigns. The 15-count indictment expands upon charges filed in September, in a case that prompted Democratic presidential hopeful Hillarybitch Clinton to return $850,000 in contributions. Hsu's lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment. U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia in Manhattan accused Hsu of engineering a $60 million Ponzi scheme. The indictment charges Hsu with six counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud and three counts of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act, which limits individual campaign contributions. If convicted, the 56-year-old Hsu could face 20 years in prison on each fraud charge and five years on each campaign finance charge, as well as fines, Garcia said. In September, Hsu had been charged with one count of mail fraud and wire fraud, and one count of violating campaign finance laws. Garcia accused Hsu of recruiting victims by promising them high returns on short-term investments, and then using payments from newer investors to pay off older investors. This scheme ran from 2000 through August 2007, Garcia said. Prosecutors said Hsu also pressured victims to contribute to politicians he supported, and threatened that failure would jeopardize their investment relationships. They said Hsu also violated federal campaign finance laws by making contributions to various candidates in the names of others. Hsu was arrested at a Grand Junction, Colorado hospital in September. On September 10, the Clinton campaign said it would return about $850,000 in contributions from him. Convicted of fraud in 1992, Hsu had evaded authorities for years. He spent time in Asia before emerging in the United States as a donor to Democrats including Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, who is also running for president. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and David Wiessler) More Articles in Washington »