Trump donor to plead guilty to hiding work as foreign agent

WASHINGTON — A prolific political fundraiser who raised millions of dollars for Democrats before donating large sums to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee has agreed to plead guilty to multiple federal charges, including tax evasion and concealing his work as a foreign agent as he lobbied high-level U.S. government officials, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

The allegations against Imaad Zuberi don’t involve his Trump ties but are centered instead on contributions he made during the Obama administration, when officials say he used his donations to obtain access to government officials and persuade them to change American policy in ways favorable to his clients. The case alleges that a fundraiser whose name has surfaced in a separate probe into Trump’s inaugural funding was years earlier soliciting foreign business and leveraging connections to Democratic officials and members of Congress.

A globe-trotting venture capitalist with extensive ties to foreign officials, Zuberi mostly raised money for Democrats but shifted his allegiance to Trump within hours of his 2016 election, eventually donating $900,000 to the president’s inaugural. Before pivoting to Trump on election night, he served as a bundler for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, including stints on both of their campaign finance committees.

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles say Zuberi, 49, has agreed to plead guilty to three counts with a maximum 15-year prison sentence. He is due in court on Oct. 30.

Court documents allege Zuberi over the years solicited money from foreign nationals and representatives of foreign governments by saying that he could use his influence to change foreign policy and create business opportunities for clients and himself. He would distribute to clients photographs of him discussing policy with elected officials as an example of his connections, prosecutors said.

Though his efforts “generated marginal results,” according to the Justice Department, some government officials were willing to adopt the positions for which he advocated.

Court records say Zuberi solicited donations from foreign nationals and companies and then used straw donors to make donations to U.S. political campaigns. Under federal law, foreign companies and individuals cannot make contributions to U.S. political campaigns.

U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said in a statement that Zuberi had lined his pockets by “representing foreign clients, obtaining access for clients by making a long series of illegal contributions, and skimming money paid by his clients.”