Hassan Nemazee, a former fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, was sentenced today to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty in March to bilking banks out of $292 million.
Nemazee pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud. Prosecutors said Nemazee operated a type of Ponzi scheme in which he borrowed large amounts from three banks using fake collateral, and then paid off the debt with more loans.
He was also ordered to pay $292 million in restitution.
The judge could have given Nemazee 19 years, according to the AP, but showed leniency due to “his involvement in American political life.”
He has to report to prison by Aug. 27.
From the AP:
Nemazee told the judge he blamed his crimes on “pride, ego, arrogance, self-image, self-importance. All these and more are reasons why I traveled down this destructive path.”
Nemazee worked as Clinton’s national finance chairman during her 2008 presidential campaign, and has a history of raising big donations for Democratic candidates including John Kerry, Joe Biden, Tom Vilsack and Chuck Schumer.
Read all of TPMmuckraker’s Nemazee coverage here.