Dem Donor Gets 3 Years for Grand Theft

The president reaches out to Wall Street donors

(NEWSER) - President Obama—who famously angered Wall Street executives by calling them “fat cats,” the New York Times reminds us—is now courting those same executives in his quest for re-election campaign contributions. He kicked off the push by hosting two dozen of them, many longtime donors, at the White House weeks before announcing his campaign to talk regulation, the deficit, and economic recovery. And, in a move at least one financier finds ironic, he will soon host more bankers, execs, and investors at posh New York restaurant Daniel, where the six-course meal runs $195 per "fat cat." More»

Four cases, six defendants, $1.1M in contributions

(NEWSER) - A number of Hillary Clinton’s top fundraisers are now caught up in criminal cases, including Galen Capital Group Chairman William P. Danielczyk Jr., who was indicted last week. There are now four major federal cases involving six defendants who raised a total of more than $1.1 million for Clinton’s 2006 Senate campaign and 2008 White House campaign, the Washington Post reports. Danielczyk is accused of skirting campaign finance limits by illegally reimbursing almost $190,000 in donations he'd nominally solicited from others. More»

Justice Department brags about wave of arrests

(NEWSER) - Federal authorities have charged more than 500 people with various forms of fraud during a 3.5-month probe, in what Eric Holder today termed the largest crackdown on scam artists in US history. Of those, 343 were criminally charged, with the defendants accused of everything from running Ponzi schemes to pump-and-dump scams to foreign-exchange frauds. Another 189 have been civilly charged, according to the Wall Street Journal . More»

(NEWSER) - Norman Hsu is a man of many hats, but the Hillary Clinton fundraiser extraordinaire, Ponzi schemer, and onetime fugitive has been sentenced to wear them in prison for the next 24 years. While significantly less than the 30 years prosecutors had asked for, Hsu’s lawyer tells the Wall Street Journal that his client plans an appeal. Though Hsu has admitted guilt, he says the prosecution inflated the size of his Ponzi scheme, which is taken into consideration when sentencing. More»

Big Hillary fundraiser faces up to 20 years

(NEWSER) - Ponzi schemer and Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu has been convicted of campaign finance fraud after two days of jury deliberations, the Wall Street Journal reports. Prosecutors said Hsu had pushed his investors to donate tens of thousands to his chosen political candidates, including Hillary Clinton, between 2004 and 2007. Hsu pleaded guilty to wire and mail fraud earlier this month. More»