Washington( CNN) Washington lobbyist W. Samuel Patten pleaded guilty Friday to acting as an unregistered foreign lobbyist, and admitted to lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee and funneling a Ukrainian oligarch's money to Donald Trump's Presidential Inaugural Committee.
This is the first time the Justice Department has publicly charged a person for helping a foreigner secretly funnel money into a Trump political event. Under his deal with prosecutors, Patten is charged merely with one criminal count. He faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 penalty for the felony charge. A sentencing date has not been set.
Patten tried tickets to Trump's inauguration on behalf of an unnamed prominent Ukrainian oligarch, according to court documents released Friday, ultimately paying $50,000 for four tickets. Patten utilized another American as a “straw purchaser, ” funneling the Ukrainian's money secretly to the inaugural committee through a Cypriot bank account.
