A woman from New York pled guilty on Wednesday in relation to a long-running investment fraud scheme. She falsely claimed to provide permanent US residency and sold access to foreign investors hoping to connect with American politicians, including President Trump.
Shelley Shwe Lee, hailing from Oyster Bay, admitted guilt to conspiracy charges, as well as obstructing the Federal Election Commission’s campaign finance laws, as reported by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Lee faces a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years and has agreed to forfeit $31.5 million, along with properties in three different locations as part of her plea deal.
According to prosecutors, “Lee attempted to profit from deceitful practices by selling access to the democratic process through years of lies, affecting over 150 victims both domestically and internationally; in doing so, she sought to undermine core institutions of the country.”
Lee, alongside co-defendant Lianbo Wang, misled investors with the promise of obtaining lawful permanent residency via the EB-5 Visa program in exchange for investing in a fictitious project dubbed the Thompson Education Center. Together, they scammed over $30 million from investors.
They allegedly funneled the fraudulently obtained funds through various bank accounts registered under the names of companies Lee had established. This money was then reportedly used for personal indulgences such as homes, jewelry, fine dining, clothing, and to fund American politicians.
The duo acted as “straw donors” for international investors, facilitating illegal contributions to political campaigns and action committees. They purportedly assured access to lawmakers for fees, misidentifying themselves and other US citizens as contributors.
Reportedly, they charged 12 foreign nationals $93,000 each and participated in a fundraiser returning $600,000 in political contributions to the committee hosting the event. Notably, Trump’s campaign has not been implicated in any fraudulent activities.
On June 28, 2017, Lee, Wang, and their foreign guests attended a fundraising event where they took photographs with President Donald Trump. The US Attorney’s Office mentioned in a news release that Lee and Wang later leveraged these photos to solicit investment in the TEC project.
