ZCZC
BFF-11
US-POLITICS-INVESTIGATION-RUSSIA
US boyfriend of ‘Russian agent’ Butina charged with fraud
WASHINGTON, Feb 7, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – An American who was dating jailed
alleged Russian agent Maria Butina was charged with fraud Tuesday, adding a
new twist in the sprawling investigations into Moscow’s meddling in US
politics.
Republican and National Rifle Association operative Paul Erickson was
charged with one count of fraud for cheating investors in companies he
controlled that purported to be running assisted living facilities and
building homes in North Dakota.
He also allegedly cheated investors in a wheelchair design and production
company, according to the indictment.
In all three cases, he took hundreds of thousands of dollars from
investors and used some of it for his personal needs, the indictment said.
In addition, he was charged with seven accounts of money laundering for
transfers he made using the fraudulently raised funds.
Erickson opened the door to conservative circles for Butina, who built a
network of high-level Republican and NRA contacts between 2013 and 2017
before her arrest last year.
With her, he arranged for a high-level delegation from the NRA to visit
Russia in December 2015, where they met with senior Russian officials.
That visit has come under scrutiny in investigations into possible
collusion between President Donald Trump’s election campaign and Russia.
In Washington, Erickson helped Butina gain admission to American
University’s graduate school and they lived together while she studied and
wove her way through Washington’s Republican circles.
According to the charges against her and her guilty plea last December,
Butina worked for powerful Russian central banker and Vladimir Putin crony
Alexander Torshin on an explicit mission to “establish unofficial lines of
communications with Americans who having power and influence over US
politics.”
“Butina sought to use those unofficial lines of communication for the
benefit of the Russian Federation,” the Justice Department said.
Meanwhile, based on the Russian connections he made through Butina, in
2016 Erickson offered to set up contacts between the Kremlin and the Trump
campaign.
According to US media reports, those actions have raised the possibility
that he could be charged with illegally acting as an agent for Moscow, and
with conspiracy for his work with Butina.
The indictment Wednesday made no direct mention of his relationship to
Butina, who is in jail awaiting sentencing.
But there were hints of a connection: money transfers to American
University, and to “M.B.”, which could be her initials.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0917 hrs