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<p>Chinese billionaire&nbsp;Hui Qin, who&nbsp;pleaded guilty&nbsp;to funnelling illegal straw donations to&nbsp;politicians’&nbsp;campaigns in the United States,&nbsp;was sentenced to prison for seven months and quickly left the country as part of his deal with prosecutors to forfeit his green card.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Qin, 56, a Chinese film magnate, appeared in a federal court in&nbsp;Central Islip, New York, and was awarded the prison sentence.</p>

<p>Qin's&nbsp;lawyer&nbsp;Henry&nbsp;Mazurek&nbsp;said&nbsp;that his client&nbsp;later was&nbsp;taken to an airport and boarded a plane to an undisclosed location.&nbsp;“I have no doubts that he will soon regain prominence in international business, and he has a good future ahead of him,”&nbsp;Mazurek told the Associated Press news agency.</p>

<p>Qin had been in a jail in Brooklyn since his arrest in October last year.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>The crimes</strong></h2>

<p>In March, Qin pleaded guilty to&nbsp;illegally making campaign contributions in the names of others, immigration fraud and production of a false identification document. The Chinese billionaire&nbsp;admitted using his fortune to recruit and reimburse people who made political donations on his behalf.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/vietnamese-billionaire-sentenced-to-death-in-in-12-billion-fraud-case-710131">Female billionaire sentenced to death for multi-billion dollar fraud in Vietnam</a></strong></p>

<p>Federal prosecutors never named the politicians whose campaigns received the straw donations. They pointed out that the straw donors contributed about $11,600 to the campaigns on&nbsp;Qin’s&nbsp;behalf without the&nbsp;campaigns’&nbsp;knowledge.</p>

<p>In a statement, US attorney Breon&nbsp;Peace's&nbsp;office said,&nbsp;"Qin’s&nbsp;brazen flouting of our political and immigration systems, and his defrauding government agencies resulted in a felony conviction, prison sentence and today, his removal from the United States."</p>

<h2><strong>Qin&nbsp;was included&nbsp;on the Forbes list of&nbsp;billionaires</strong></h2>

<p>The 56-year-old&nbsp;was previously included&nbsp;on the&nbsp;Forbes list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of&nbsp;$1.8 billion from his stake in film and entertainment companies.&nbsp;Citing campaign finance records, the Associated Press report said that&nbsp;Qin donated $2,000 to the campaign of Eric&nbsp;Adams, the current New York mayor, in March 2021.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Under the&nbsp;city’s&nbsp;campaign finance rules, green card holders can contribute to races and participate in the&nbsp;city’s&nbsp;generous matching funds programme, which caps donations at $2,100.</p>

<p><strong>Also watch |&nbsp;Wealth tax gains traction as billionaires' fortunes soar</strong></p>

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<p>A lawyer for the mayor said his client had no knowledge of the scheme.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Nine months after the donation to Adams, federal prosecutors said Qin began working&nbsp;“to find individuals to make more than $10,000 in straw donor contributions”&nbsp;to a New York City candidate who&nbsp;was not identified.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Prosecutors added that at least one person&nbsp;donated $1,000 on&nbsp;Qin’s&nbsp;behalf on December&nbsp;9.&nbsp;The following day, the billionaire spoke with an unnamed co-conspirator, who told him they expected to be able to obtain up to $20,000 in straw donor contributions for the candidate.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Chinese billionaire Hui Qin, who pleaded guilty to funnelling illegal straw donations to politicians’ campaigns in the United States, was sentenced to prison for seven months and quickly left the country as part of his deal with prosecutors to forfeit his green card.

Chinese billionaire Hui Qin, who pleaded guilty to funnelling illegal straw donations to politicians’ campaigns in the United States, was sentenced to prison for seven months and quickly left the country as part of his deal with prosecutors to forfeit his green card. Qin, 56, a Chinese film magnate, appeared in a federal court in Central Islip, New York, and was awarded the prison sentence. Qin's lawyer Henry Mazurek said that his client later was taken to an airport and boarded a plane to an undisclosed location. “I have no doubts that he will soon regain prominence in international business, and he has a good future ahead of him,” Mazurek told the Associated Press news agency. Qin had been in a jail in Brooklyn since his arrest in October last year. The crimes In March, Qin pleaded guilty to illegally making campaign contributions in the names of others, immigration fraud and production of a false identification document. The Chinese billionaire admitted using his fortune to recruit and reimburse people who made political donations on his behalf. Also read | Female billionaire sentenced to death for multi-billion dollar fraud in Vietnam Federal prosecutors never named the politicians whose campaigns received the straw donations. They pointed out that the straw donors contributed about $11,600 to the campaigns on Qin’s behalf without the campaigns’ knowledge. In a statement, US attorney Breon Peace's office said, "Qin’s brazen flouting of our political and immigration systems, and his defrauding government agencies resulted in a felony conviction, prison sentence and today, his removal from the United States." Qin was included on the Forbes list of billionaires The 56-year-old was previously included on the Forbes list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion from his stake in film and entertainment companies. Citing campaign finance records, the Associated Press report said that Qin donated $2,000 to the campaign of Eric Adams, the current New York mayor, in March 2021. Under the city’s campaign finance rules, green card holders can contribute to races and participate in the city’s generous matching funds programme, which caps donations at $2,100. Also watch | Wealth tax gains traction as billionaires' fortunes soar × A lawyer for the mayor said his client had no knowledge of the scheme. Nine months after the donation to Adams, federal prosecutors said Qin began working “to find individuals to make more than $10,000 in straw donor contributions” to a New York City candidate who was not identified. Prosecutors added that at least one person donated $1,000 on Qin’s behalf on December 9. The following day, the billionaire spoke with an unnamed co-conspirator, who told him they expected to be able to obtain up to $20,000 in straw donor contributions for the candidate. (With inputs from agencies)

Chinese billionaire Hui Qin sentenced to jail by US court, taken to undisclosed location

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Chinese billionaire Hui Qin sentenced to jail by US court, taken to undisclosed location