两位前总统助理唐纳德·特朗普美国私人律师鲁迪·朱利安尼周一对9月份发回的一份替代起诉书中的指控表示不服罪。
“无罪，法官大人，”列夫·帕纳斯在被法官保罗·奥特肯询问时说道。
“无罪，”伊戈尔·弗鲁曼在类似的提问下说。
第三名被告安德烈·库库什金(Andrey Kukushkin)也对三人合谋利用一家名为“欺诈保证”的公司实施欺诈的指控表示不服，该公司旨在为投资者提供公司欺诈保险。联邦检察官表示，这三人误导了投资者对公司实力的看法，以及他们的钱会被用来做什么。
帕纳斯雇佣朱利安尼以50万美元的价格咨询欺诈担保公司。
帕纳斯、弗鲁曼和库库斯金此前对各自的指控表示不服，他们指控帕纳斯、弗鲁曼和库库斯金向纽约、内华达州和其他州的地方和联邦政治家提供非法竞选捐款，试图为一项新的娱乐大麻业务赢得支持。
帕纳斯和弗鲁曼也参与了对特朗普总统的弹劾调查，因为他们和朱利安尼试图说服乌克兰调查亨特·拜登，并涉嫌帮助朱利安尼与前任和现任乌克兰官员举行会议。根据最初的起诉书，他们还试图挖掘当时的美国驻乌克兰大使玛丽·约瓦诺维奇的破坏性信息。
对帕纳斯和弗鲁曼的指控使朱利安尼的商业活动受到了审查。调查的情况尚不清楚，但法庭记录显示调查仍在进行中。
法官将帕纳斯和弗鲁曼的审判日期推迟到2021年晚些时候，审判日期已经推迟到3月。
Former Rudy Giuliani associates plead not guilty to fraud charges
Two former associates of PresidentDonald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani pleaded not guilty Monday to charges contained in a superseding indictment returned in September.
“Not guilty, your honor,” Lev Parnas said when questioned by Judge Paul Oetken.
“Not guilty,” Igor Fruman said under similar questioning.
A third defendant, Andrey Kukushkin, also pleaded not guilty to charges that the three men conspired to commit fraud using a company called Fraud Guarantee, which purported to insure investors against corporate fraud. Federal prosecutors said the trio misled investors about the strength of the company and what would be done with their money.
Parnas had hired Giuliani to consult with Fraud Guarantee for $500,000.
Parnas, Fruman and Kukushkin previously pleaded not guilty to separate charges that they made illegal campaign donations to local and federal politicians in New York, Nevada and other states to try to win support for a new recreational marijuana business.
Parnas and Fruman had also been involved in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump since they and Giuliani tried to persuade Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden and allegedly helped set up meetings between Giuliani and former and current Ukrainian officials. They also tried to dig up damaging information on then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, according to the initial indictment.
The charges against Parnas and Fruman brought scrutiny on Giuliani’s business activities. The status of that investigation is not clear, but court records have indicated it is ongoing.
The judge pushed back the trial date for Parnas and Fruman, which had already been delayed to March, until later in 2021.
