David Correia, the fourth defendant in alleged schemes tied to longtime pals of Rudy Giuliani’s, remains at large, TPM has learned.
A law enforcement official familiar with the situation told TPM Monday morning that Correia is not in federal custody.
A resident of West Palm Beach, Florida, Correia was indicted on Thursday on campaign finance charges related to schemes to funnel foreign money into state-level Nevada political campaigns in order to procure a license to sell weed and to launder money into GOP congressional campaigns in a bid to avoid limits on political contributions.
The Giuliani pals – Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman – remain in federal custody, as does Andrey Kukushkin, a marijuana business investor.
Correia has been a longtime business partner of both Parnas and Fruman.
One picture – posted by a Fruman associate who also is a Ukrainian rabbi – shows Correia giving a thumbs up with Fruman and President Donald Trump.
The picture appears to have been taken at an event hosted by America First Action PAC, a pro-Trump political committee.
America First Action has another connection to last week’s indictment: Parnas and Fruman are accused of laundering $325,000 into the PAC in 2018, allegedly using the wrong name of a business entity in a flopped bid to conceal the true origin of the cash.
TPM wrote about the case in September, and found court records in a Florida lawsuit which showed that the money flowed to America First Action from a Parnas-linked company called Aaron Investments. Business records show that Correia used to be listed as a registered agent of Aaron Investments.
He also has been a longtime co-director with Parnas at a Boca Raton-based business called Fraud Guarantee, which purports to sell anti-fraud insurance to investors.
Correia could not be reached for comment. Calls to businesses registered in his name went unanswered. An email sent to the registered agent of Strategic Investment Group, Inc. – one such business – also went unanswered.
