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Giuliani Associate Ordered to Testify About Source of Funds

Giuliani Associate Ordered to Testify About Source of Funds

(Bloomberg) -- A judge in Florida ordered an associate of Rudy Giuliani to testify within 30 days about the source of funds that were used to make campaign donations to the America First political action committee and former U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions, after a creditor claimed they were misappropriated from a family trust.

The Giuliani associate, Lev Parnas, was charged in Manhattan with laundering campaign donations and using foreign funds to support U.S. political campaigns. Parnas could be forced to answer questions in Florida about matters that are the subject of the federal prosecution in New York.

Giuliani Associate Ordered to Testify About Source of Funds

The creditor, the Pues Family Trust IRA, won a $510,000 judgment against Parnas in 2016 seeking repayment of what were supposed to be short-term loans to Parnas and a related company. This year, the Pues trust registered the judgment with the court in Florida to pursue repayment there, where Parnas lives.

Parnas was freed on a $1 million bond in the New York case and is under house arrest in Florida.

The trust claims the money was used to make the donations to America First and Sessions that are now subject of the New York indictment, according to an order filed Tuesday in Miami federal court. U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks said Parnas did not file a response contesting the request for additional information. CNN reported on the order to testify earlier.

Edward McMahon, a lawyer for Parnas, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment late Tuesday.

The case is Pues Family Trust IRA v. Parnas Holdings Inc., 19-mc-80024, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida (West Palm Beach).

To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Berthelsen in New York at cberthelsen1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider

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