Norman Hsu sentenced to 24 years in prision
A former U.S. Democratic Party fundraiser whose 2007 arrest prompted Hillary Clinton to return $850,000 in campaign contributions was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison on Tuesday.
Hong Kong-born Norman Hsu, 58, was convicted in May by a jury in federal court in New York of violating election laws by making donations to political campaigns in other people’s names. Hsu had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud and wire fraud in running a Ponzi scheme of up to $60 million.
U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero sentenced him to a total of 292 months in prison, describing Hsu’s Ponzi scheme as “striking at the very core of democracy.”
Hsu apologized during the hearing to victims of his scheme. “I made a huge mistake, a terrible mistake,” he told the judge.
During Hsu’s trial, a voicemail recording was played to the jury in which Clinton, then a U.S. senator from New York and now the U.S. secretary of state, praised Hsu for his support. Hsu’s arrest in September 2007 prompted Clinton’s presidential campaign to return contributions linked to Hsu.
“He lied to some of the most preeminent politicians in the country,” said prosecutor Alexander Willscher during the hearing.
