Two people arrested after using Donald Trump as bait for $27 million investment fraud

Former United States President Donald Trump was used as bait by two New York residents who were arrested in relation to a $27 million fraud on Monday. According to the authorities, the two accused - Sherry Xue Li and Lianbo “Mike” Wang - promised access to high-profile politicians like Trump besides providing foreign national visas to their customers. The police arrested the duo on charges of money laundering as well as wire fraud while Li was also charged with “conspiring to defraud the US by obstructing the administration of federal campaign finance laws”.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the two American citizens took millions of dollars from their victims by making them invest in fraudulent business and donations to political campaigns.

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“We allege Li and Wang promised investors green cards, access to political figures, and dividends on their money. Tens of millions of dollars came in from investors and straw donors, who expected their money would bear fruit. However, only one promise came to fruition, the access to political power. Foreign money pollutes our immigration and democratic processes, and we must do all we can to protect them,” US Attorney Breon Peace in Brooklyn said according to the report.

The main leverage used by Li and Wang was a picture they took with Trump during a fundraising event in 2017. They used the picture to claim that they had access to former US President, and they charged $93,000 each for foreign visas and also took $600,000 in unlawful campaign contributions.