A Republican political operative and former campaign aide was found guilty this week of funneling money from a Russian businessman to Donald Trump.
The man was found guilty of soliciting an illegal foreign contribution, attempting to cover it up, and submitting false information about the source of the money.
Roman Vasilenko, a former Russian naval officer turned multilevel marketer and CEO of the "Life is Good International Business Academy" gave the money for the donation.
According to prosecutors, Vasilenko paid $100,000 to get a man to go to a political event and take a picture with Donald Trump.
The campaigns of Senate Minority LeaderMitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul, both Republicans from Kentucky, as well as the campaigns of Rep. Ron Paul, R- Texas, were all worked on by Benton.
After buying a $25,000 ticket to a Trump event in Philadelphia, Benton gave the ticket to Vasilenko, who posted a picture of himself with Trump on his social media accounts.
He used his own credit card to pocket the rest of the money.
Roy Douglas "Doug" Wead, a Republican pundit who died in late 2021, was one of the defendants.
It is the second time that Benton has been convicted of a campaign finance crime.
A jury found three people guilty of conspiring to bribe an Iowa state senator to support Ron Paul in the 2012 Iowa Republican Caucus.
The senator admitted to taking more than $70,000 in bribes in order to switch his support from the congressman. Ron Paul's campaign was worked on by another person. Sorenson was sentenced to more than a year in prison.
Six months of home confinement was given to the man. The sentence in the Ron Paul case was handed down two days before the Trump event.
A full pardon for the 2016 conviction was granted by Trump in late 2020.
A number of people have been convicted of helping foreigners contribute to Trump's political career.
Sam Patten, a Republican strategist, admitted to helping a pro-Russian member of the parliament make a donation to the inaugural committee. Inaugural committees can't accept donations from foreigners.
In the most recent trial, one of the main questions was whether or not Vasilenko was looking for a photo with a famous person, or if he was just looking for a photo with a political figure.
According to evidence presented at the trial, Wead and Vasilenko wanted to get a photo with Oprah Winfrey, but decided against it.
Stolarz said in his closing argument that if Oprah was available, they wouldn't be here.
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