PrintSeptember 20, 2007
Hsu Faces Fundraising Charges
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu will be charged with several counts of fraud as well as violations of campaign finance law today:
The case, to be announced this afternoon by the U.S. attorney's office in the Southern District of New York, encompasses complaints by investors who gave tens of millions of dollars to Mr. Hsu, who said he was putting the money into a lucrative apparel operation.Hsu's entire life was apparently a fraud. One striking thing about the indictments was the amount of money Hsu bilked from his marks. Evidently, he learned a few things when he was overseas, on the lam from his conviction in 1992 for swindling $2 million from investors in a similar scheme to the one his is being charged with today. This crime is many times that amount - close to $60 million according to prosecutors and include not only Source Financing in New York (where many campaign contributions to Hillary Clinton from investors were listed on Hsu company books) but also people in California as well.
It also is expected to charge Mr. Hsu with crimes relating to his legendary fund-raising. See a sortable table of campaign donations from Norman Hsu and other donors whose pattern of donations correlates with his.A lawyer and a spokesman for Mr. Hsu did not immediately return calls for comment this morning...
Some of the money that Mr. Hsu donated generously to candidates appears to have come from the business schemes that federal officials are expected to allege were fraudulent.
It should be fascinating to watch as this scheme unravels. How much did Hillary know and when did she know it might be a question that we'll begin to hear with great regularity during the course of the investigation.
