Norman Hsu

Stories

19 Stories

May 2009
- Hsu Guilty of Squeezing Donors for Campaign Cash
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 19, 09 11:28 AM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - 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 »
- Dem Donor Hsu Pleads Guilty to $20M Fraud
  
  New York Post | May 7, 09 11:26 AM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu pleaded guilty today to 10 counts of wire and mail fraud related to an alleged $20 million Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors say Hsu, now 58, bullied victims into contributing to political causes and made illegal donations to politicians like Hillary Clinton, who eventually returned $850,000. His trial begins Monday in Manhattan federal court, the New York Post reports. More »
January 2008
- Sketchy Donor Could Sully Obama's Image
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jan 23, 08 4:17 PM CST
  
  (Newser Summary) - Barack Obama’s relationship with a longtime contributor facing federal fraud charges could mar the candidate’s image as a politician unfettered by special interests. On Monday, Hillary Clinton slammed Obama with the allegation that he represented Antoin Rezko, a “slum landlord.” While that was an exaggeration, Rezko’s connection to Obama’s political career is stronger than he has acknowledged, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »
- Dem Donor Gets 3 Years for Grand Theft
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Jan 4, 08 9:14 PM CST
  
  (Newser Summary) - More than 15 years after pleading no-contest to grand theft charges, Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu was sentenced in California to 3 years in prison today, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. A judge dismissed Hsu's argument that he was denied the right to speedy justice because authorities made little effort to find him during his fugitive years. Hsu's lawyer plans to appeal the ruling. More »
November 2007
- Trail of Hsu's Ambition Leads to Prison
  
  Wall Street Journal | Nov 12, 07 1:35 PM CST
  
  (Newser Summary) - After several failed business schemes in the 1980s and 1990s, Norman Hsu went home to Hong Kong to recoup and plan an ego-boosting second try at the American fast lane. The Journal fills in the gaps in Hsu’s story, revealing the busted bundler as a capable manipulator obsessed with respect—and in thrall to Hillary Clinton. More »
October 2007
- Disgraced Fundraiser 'a True Bon Vivant'
  
  Los Angeles Times | Oct 11, 07 3:29 PM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - Erstwhile fugitive fundraiser Norman Hsu had a taste for the finer things, including a 180-bottle wine collection valued at $100,000 and a saxophone seemingly signed by President Bill Clinton. Those items were in the outlaw bundler’s New York apartment, according to newly unsealed documents. One expert tells the Los Angeles Times of the sizable cellar, “It’s a little showy, but nice.” More »
September 2007
- Hsu Hit With Another Fraud Suit
  
  Los Angeles Times | Sep 22, 07 11:03 AM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - In the latest legal woes to befall disgraced fundraiser Norman Hsu, a California investment company filed a lawsuit yesterday claiming he defrauded investors out of $23 million and demanded political contributions as a prerequisite for doing business. The allegations come a day after the feds filed criminal complaints against Hsu, the Los Angeles Times reports, for a $60 million Ponzi scheme and violation of campaign finance laws. More »
- ‘Bundlers’ Rake In Cash, Harbor Ethics Gaps
  
  Washington Post | Sep 20, 07 2:33 PM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - "Bundlers"—political fundraisers who solicit other donors to give—are a standard feature of the presidential race, and many remain favored by major campaigns despite unethical and even illegal conduct. The Post spotlights questionable rainmakers in the Norman Hsu scandal aftermath, including one Hillary donor who gave $160,000 and a country-club membership to a Bill appointee’s son. More »
- Feds to Charge Hsu on Pyramid Scheme, Dem Fundraising
  
  Wall Street Journal | Sep 20, 07 11:15 AM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - Rogue Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu’s troubles are deepening today, as federal officials are expected to charge the twice-on-the-lam financier with running a $60 million pyramid scheme and breaking campaign-finance laws. Hsu faces accusations that he falsely told investors their money was going into a clothing operation; some of was allegedly routed to political candidates, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
- Hsu Sent Suicide Note Before Skipping Town
  
  Wall Street Journal | Sep 13, 07 9:56 AM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - Fugitive fundraiser Norman Hsu sent out a suicide note to acquaintances and charities he had supported before he hopped a train to Colorado last week, skipping out on a Bay Area court appearance. On the train, Hsu locked himself in a tiny cabin. When he failed to come out the next day, Amtrak workers used a crowbar to pry open the door, the Wall Street Journal reports. They found a bare-chested, disoriented Hsu on the floor, surrounded by prescription pills. More »
- Hillary to Repay $850K From Hsu
  
  Associated Press | Sep 11, 07 6:10 AM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - Hillary Clinton's campaign will return $850,000 raised by Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, a fugitive from a 1991 fraud conviction who turned himself in and then skipped out on a Bay Area court hearing last week. Clinton had planned to give $23,000 from Hsu to charity, but has since decided to return all funds raised by Hsu from 260 donors. More »
- Hsu's Life Spent on the Run
  
  Wall Street Journal | Sep 8, 07 10:52 AM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - Fallen and fugitive, Norman Hsu was disowned last week by the very Democrats who thrived on his mysterious largess when details of a 1992 grand theft charge emerged. But the Journal reports that charge wasn't unique to a man whose past is filled with bankruptcies, sketchy investments, a string of bogus addresses, and even a good old-fashioned kidnapping. More »
- Feds Arrest Fugitive Fundraiser in Colorado
  
  Associated Press | Sep 7, 07 8:23 AM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - Renegade Democratic donor Norman Hsu was tracked down by the FBI in Colorado last night after skipping town again—he failed to show up in Bay Area court Wednesday for a bail-reduction hearing in connection with his 15-year-old felony theft case. The FBI charged him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution; once Hsu is in custody in California, the federal charges against him will be dropped, the AP reports. More »
- In Response to Norman Hsu's Arrest
  
  California Chronicle | Sep 7, 07
  
  In response to requests for reaction to yesterday%u2019s arrest of Norman Hsu, the California Department of Justice is providing the following information: As you know, Norman Hsu was charged in an 18 count felony complaint in August 1991 with stealing $1 million from approximately 20 investors in a Ponzi-type scheme to buy and resell latex gloves that did not exist. He was held to answer after a preliminary hearing in November of 1991 and an information was filed in the superior court charging Hsu with 16 counts of grant theft and excessive taking allegations. Mr. Hsu agreed to a negotiated...
- Dem Moneyman May Be on the Lam Again
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Sep 5, 07 4:27 PM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - A top Democratic fundraiser is in more trouble after failing to appear in a California court today for a bail hearing, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. A judge revoked Norman Hsu's $2 million bail and issued a new warrant for his arrest. “It could be a mistake, somehow, on his part," his lawyer said. "It could be something else.” More »
- Feds Probe Hsu for Using Mail Carrier's Family
  
  Wall Street Journal | Sep 1, 07 3:26 PM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - The Feds are probing claims that top fundraiser Norman Hsu used a mail carrier and his family to donate to the Dems, the Wall Street Journal reports. Officials suspect that Hsu reimbursed the family for their donations, which were similar in amount and timing to Hsu’s. Hsu denies the felony charge, saying he only asked others “to give money out of their own pockets, and sometimes they have agreed.” More »
- Hsu Surrenders; Campaigns Lick Wounds and Revisit Vetting
  
  Los Angeles Times | Sep 1, 07 9:09 AM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - Fugitive financier Norman Hsu surrendered to a San Mateo, CA, court yesterday, and was released on $2 million bail, leaving political types to wonder how someone with an outstanding grand theft charge could slip under the radar of so many campaigns, especially the experienced hands who let him donate and raise more than $130,000 for Hillary Clinton, the LA Times reports. More »
August 2007
- Clinton Will Regift Fugitive Fundraiser's Donation
  
  Los Angeles Times | Aug 30, 07 10:13 AM CDT
  
  (Newser Summary) - Hillary Clinton will give away $23,000 she received from a major Democratic fundraiser who has turned out to be a wanted fugitive. Norman Hsu has raised or donated more than $1 million in recent years, but California prosecutors says he disappeared in 1992 after pleading no contest to a charge of defrauding investors, the LA Times reports. More »
- Democratic fundraiser is a fugitive in plain sight
  
  Los Angeles Times | Aug 29, 07
  
  WASHINGTON -- For the last 15 years, California authorities have been trying to figure out what happened to a businessman named Norman Hsu, who pleaded no contest to grand theft, agreed to serve up to three years in prison and then seemed to vanish. "He is a fugitive," Ronald Smetana, who handled the case for the state attorney general, said in an interview. "Do you know where he is?" Hsu, it seems, has been hiding in plain sight, at least for the last three years. Since 2004, one Norman Hsu has been carving out a prominent place of honor among Democratic fundraisers. He has funneled hundreds...