norman hsu indicted

Hey! It's everybody's favorite shady Asian political campaign fundraisser... Last week, a federal grand jury indicted Norman Hsu on charges of cheating investors of at least $20 million and making illegal dontations to the political campaigns of congressional and presidential candidates: Democratic Fundraiser Hsu Indicted in NY. In a 15-count indictment, the government accused Hsu of duping investors nationwide with a massive Ponzi scheme. He is also accused of violating campaign-finance lawas by making contributions to various political candidates in the names of others.

It seems Norman was a bit of a high roller, or at least wanted others to believe so. Federal prosecutors said Hsu hoped his lavish campaign contributions would help draw money to his scheme by raising his public profile. To achieve his aims, he apparently pressured many of this victims to contribute thousands of dollars to various candidates. As it came to light this summer, Hsu was once a valued supporter of Clinton, raising more than $1.2 million for her and other Democratic candidates in recent years. The scandal hit the fan when it was revealed he had been hiding from the law in plain sight since 1992. Norman's flight from the law ended in September, after missing a court date, when he was arreseted at a Colorado hospital after attempting suicide.

He now faces six counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud and three counts of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the fraud charges, and five years on each of the federal campaign-finance charges. He also could face millions of dollars in fines.