One of two associates of Rudy Giuliani who made a donation to a pro-Trump super PAC that eventually landed both in jail wants the money back, BuzzFeed News reported.
Soviet-born entrepreneur Igor Fruman, who was indicted by a federal grand along with his partner, Lev Parnas, for trying to hide the origins of donations to America First Action in May 2018, is asking for his $325,000 contribution back, the news outlet reported, citing court records.
Fruman has pleaded not guilty.
Months after the donation was sent to the super PAC, a campaign watchdog group filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission, accusing the partners of concealing the source of the funds by listing a company they had founded as the donor.
America First, which says it never spent the money, wants the federal court in Florida to take control of the funds and dole them out as it sees fit. In a court filing Friday, the political organization revealed it had received a notice from Fruman's lawyer in December asking the money be given back.
Florida lawyer Tony Andre, who represents a family that won a large court judgment against Parnas in 2016 — and is also claiming a right to part of that money — said Fruman has argued through his lawyers that the donation came legitimately from the company he and Parnas co-founded, and "now he wants to say it belongs to him.”
“I guess it's not surprising. That's the kind of gall that they've shown through this whole process,” he told BuzzFeed.