Paul Manafort’s sentencing in federal court on Wednesday appeared to be the latest move in a long chess match. But just 30 minutes later, another move was played when new charges against him were unsealed in New York.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman to 73 months in prison following his guilty plea to two counts of conspiracy, ending his federal case in the District of Columbia. The crimes were part of his scheme to earn fees for political consulting in Ukraine without paying taxes on the income in the United States. Manafort hid his lobbying work from the U.S. government by failing to register as an agent of a foreign government and depositing his earnings in foreign bank accounts that he failed to report. He used wire transfers from the bank accounts to fund a lavish lifestyle, including expensive real estate, landscaping, home improvements and expensive custom-made suits. He laundered $55 million through these accounts and underpaid his income taxes by $6 million. When his clients fell out of power and the work dried up, he obtained cash by mortgaging his properties, making false statements on documents to qualify for the loans.
Judge Jackson imposed part of her sentence on top of the 47-month sentence handed down last week by Judge T.S. Ellis in the Eastern District of Virginia, where Manafort was convicted at trial for related crimes. Cases were brought in the two different districts because some of the criminal acts were committed in each district, and Manafort declined to waive venue. Combined, the sentences mean that Manafort will spend a total of 7 ½ years in prison.