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Lev Parnas[a] (born February 6, 1972)[1] is a Soviet-born American businessman and former associate of Rudy Giuliani. Parnas, Giuliani, Igor Fruman, John Solomon, Yuriy Lutsenko, Dmytro Firtash and his allies, Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova, were involved in creating the false Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory, which is part of the Trump–Ukraine scandal's efforts to damage Joe Biden.[2][3][4][5] As president, Donald Trump said he did not know Parnas nor what he was involved in; Parnas insisted Trump "knew exactly what was going on".[6][7]

Key Information

In October 2021, Parnas was found guilty in U.S. Federal Court on six counts related to illegal donations to the 2020 campaign of Donald Trump.[8] He was sentenced to 20 months in prison, three years of supervised release and $2,322,500 in restitution on June 29, 2022.[9]

Early life and education

[edit]

Parnas was born in Odesa, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, in 1972 to a Jewish family.[10] His family brought him at the age of four to the U.S. via the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program, first to Detroit, and later to Brooklyn. He was a student at Brooklyn College and Baruch College. He also worked at Kings Highway Realty, where he sold Trump Organization co-ops.[11]

Career

[edit]

Parnas moved to Florida in 1995. He later founded Parnas Holdings. After a failed film project, he partnered with Igor Fruman in an energy-related venture.[1][12] The Miami Herald reported that he "left a long trail of debts in Florida and beyond."[13]

In 2019, Parnas served as a translator for a legal case involving Dmytro Firtash, a Ukrainian oligarch with close ties to the Kremlin and self-admitted Russian mob connections,[14] who is fighting extradition to the U.S. to face bribery charges. Firtash has been free on bail in Vienna since 2014.[15] According to prosecutors, Parnas was paid by diGenova & Toensing, LLP as an interpreter to communicate with their client, Firtash.[16] A Swiss lawyer for Firtash loaned $1 million to Parnas's wife in September 2019, according to Federal prosecutors.[17]

Trump–Ukraine scandal

[edit]
Main article: Trump–Ukraine scandal

As early as April 2018, Giuliani, Parnas, and Fruman began assisting Trump's re-election efforts and they identified Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch as being an obstacle.[18] On January 24, 2020, during the Trump impeachment trial, ABC News published a recording that Parnas's attorney claimed was made by Fruman and shared with Parnas.[19] The recording appears to be from a small gathering with Trump, apparently during a dinner held April 30, 2018 at Trump Hotel Washington.[18] A voice identified as Parnas's is heard to say to Trump: "The biggest problem there, I think where we need to start is we gotta get rid of the Ambassador."

Late in 2018, Giuliani dispatched the two to Ukraine to search for damaging information on Trump's U.S. political rivals. According to The New York Times, "Their mission was to find people and information that could be used to undermine the Special Counsel's investigation, and also to damage former Vice President Joseph R. Biden."[20] Both were at the center of the pro-Trump forces' push to remove Ambassador Yovanovitch, because her loyalty to Trump was deemed insufficient.[20] It was reported the two also pressed for support for allegations that former Ukrainian officials schemed to manipulate the 2016 election to support Hillary Clinton, by revealing adverse information about Paul Manafort, chairman of Trump's campaign, which became a central element in Mueller's special counsel investigation.[21]

Over the course of a year beginning in 2018, Parnas and Fruman assisted Giuliani and his associates to contact Ukrainians who were working on finding alleged corruption surrounding Hunter Biden and Burisma.[20] These included Yuriy Lutsenko, then the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, who was crucial to Giuliani's efforts to produce damaging information. Viktor Shokin, a former Prosecutor General of Ukraine, was part of this group.

In late September 2019, the whistleblower report was released, which characterized Parnas and Fruman as "two associates of Mr. Giuliani."[22][23]

On September 30, 2019, Adam Schiff of the Democrat House Intelligence Committee requested documents from Parnas. Parnas was initially represented by John M. Dowd, who was Trump's personal attorney during part of the Mueller investigation in 2017–18.[24] Trump consented to this representation, as evidenced in an email from White House Counsel Jay Sekulow to the president.[25] Parnas later disclosed that they met with Dowd in Dowd's home and conducted a conference call with Sekulow and Giuliani. According to revelations disclosed on The Rachel Maddow Show by Parnas in 2020, they decided to claim immunity and not cooperate on the basis that Giuliani was the President's attorney, protected by attorney-client privilege, and they were working under the direction of Giuliani.[26] On October 7, 2019, Dowd informed the Miami Herald newspaper there would be no cooperation, Mike Pompeo made a similar announcement, and State Department employee Charles Kent failed to appear before the House Intelligence Committee.[27] On October 8, 2019, White House counsel Pat Cipollone issued a document that confirmed that Trump and his administration would not cooperate with the impeachment inquiry in any manner.[28]

Arrest and prosecution

[edit]

Parnas and Fruman were arrested on the evening of October 9, 2019, at Dulles International Airport, and charged with planning to direct funds from a foreign government "to U.S. politicians while trying to influence U.S.-Ukraine relations".[29] They had one-way tickets to Frankfurt, Germany, and were reported to be going to Vienna, Austria.[30] The head of the New York FBI office described the investigation as "about corrupt behavior, deliberate lawbreaking".[2]

The charges alleged Parnas and Fruman were involved in the campaign to oust Ambassador Yovanovitch from her post and have her recalled.[31] In 2018, the operation included Parnas and Fruman donating funds and pledging further additional moneys to an unnamed Congressman, who was allegedly recruited for the campaign to oust her.[31] The funds were allegedly funneled through a shell company, Global Energy Producers, and some violated campaign limits.[32] Parnas and Fruman were also charged with unlawful campaign contributions. Based on campaign finance filings, former congressman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) was identified as the unnamed recipient. In 2018, as the Chairman of the House Rules Committee, Sessions wrote a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that Ambassador Yovanovitch should be fired for privately expressing "disdain" for the Trump administration.[31]

The House Intelligence Committee converted their request for documents from Parnas and Fruman into subpoenas on October 10, 2019.[33] The New York field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), along with SDNY prosecutors, were conducting a criminal investigation of Giuliani's relationship with Parnas and Fruman.[34] Giuliani was at the time under investigation for potentially violating lobbying laws, but that investigation ended without charges.[35]

Parnas dismissed Dowd and retained Joseph Bondy, who announced on November 5, 2019, that Parnas "is now prepared to comply with requests for records and testimony from congressional impeachment investigators".[36]

On November 22, 2019, Parnas stated to CNN that he would be willing to testify to Congress regarding his, Republican congressman Devin Nunes's, Giuliani's, and Trump's role in the Ukraine affairs.[37] Documents released to a watchdog group showed communication took place between Giuliani and Pompeo shortly before Ambassador Yovanovitch was removed from her post. Memos from Giuliani to Pompeo regarding a January 23, 2019, meeting with Ukraine's former prosecutor general Victor Shokin were included. Giuliani noted that Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas were present at the meeting. Shokin was ousted from his job in 2016 because of his lack of attention to corruption cases.[38]

On January 20, 2020, Bondy filed a motion seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor outside the Justice Department and for U.S. Attorney General William Barr to recuse himself.[39] The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman recused himself in the Michael Cohen case owing to his political support of Trump.[40] Trump reportedly asked then acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to override Berman's recusal and to prosecute Cohen.[41] To date, Berman has not recused himself in the Parnas case despite similar potential conflicts of interest as in the Cohen case. Additionally, Berman worked at the same law firm as Giuliani.[42]

In a May 2021 letter to federal judge J. Paul Oetken, Bondy wrote he had seen a government chart detailing the extent to which SDNY investigators had acquired communications of parties related to the Parnas case, and asserted:

The evidence seized likely includes e-mail, text, and encrypted communications that are either non-privileged or subject to an exception to any potentially applicable privilege, between, inter alia, Rudolph Giuliani, Victoria Toensing, the former President, former Attorney General William P. Barr, high-level members of the Justice Department, Presidential impeachment attorneys Jay Sekulow, Jane Raskin and others, Senator Lindsey Graham, Congressman Devin Nunes and others, relating to the timing of the arrest and indictment of the defendants as to prevent potential disclosures to Congress in the first impeachment inquiry of then-President Donald. J. Trump.[43]

Parnas asked for the charges to be dismissed, claiming that the Trump administration had prosecuted him to protect Trump against Congressional investigations, but a federal judge rejected this claim as a "conspiracy theory."[44] Parnas was subsequently convicted in March 2022 and sentenced to 20 months in prison.[45] Parnas was released to home confinement in late 2022, and completed his sentence in September 2023.[46]

MSNBC interview

[edit]

In early January 2020, an attorney for Parnas turned over photos, text messages and thousands of pages of documents to the House Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.[47]

On January 15 and 16, 2020 MSNBC aired segments of an interview of Parnas conducted by Rachel Maddow.[48][26] This was Parnas's first television interview regarding his involvement in the Trump-Ukraine scandal.[49] Some of Parnas's claims were supported by documentary evidence released by the House that same week.[50][51] Elements of the interview including timelines that were cross-checked by some news organizations against event records such as the date Pence announced he would not be going to Ukraine.[52] White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, Pence spokesman Marc Short, and a Justice Department spokesman stressed the fact that Parnas was under indictment and therefore was not credible.[53] Trump repeated the claims he did not know Parnas, and denied he was aware of a letter by Giuliani to the Ukrainian president wherein Giuliani claimed that he was acting on the behalf of Trump.[54]

Parnas made many claims in the interview:

  • "Trump knew exactly what was going on" and Parnas's efforts were coordinated with Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani.[48] He also said that "Attorney General Barr was basically on the team" and conferred with Giuliani frequently.[55]
  • Trump's counsel Jay Sekulow was also aware, however he "wanted to stay away from all this stuff involving Ukraine".[26]
  • Parnas met in Ukraine with a top Ukrainian official and informed him he was speaking on Trump's behalf; Parnas warned that all aid to Ukraine, as well as Pence's attendance at the inauguration of the new Ukrainian President, were contingent upon an announcement that Biden was being investigated.[48]
  • Pence was "in the loop" and knew the reason his trip to Ukraine was cancelled after the Ukrainian government failed to comply with Trump's demand as communicated by Parnas.[48]
  • The motivation to get rid of Ambassador Yovanovitch was to obtain negative information about Joe Biden. Specifically, former Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko claimed he would deliver evidence of improper behavior about "B" after a decision was made about "Madam".[26] This particular claim was backed by a March 22, 2019, text from Lutsenko that was released by the House and discussed in the interview. Trump removed Yovanovitch from her post in May 2019.[56][57][58]
  • Parnas described a dinner with President Trump where the Ambassador was discussed and Trump said to fire her.[48] This claim was substantiated further by an audio recording of this meeting released on January 24, 2020.[59]
  • Ukrainian businessman Firtash claimed he could help discredit the Mueller investigation if charges against him were dropped.[48]
  • Parnas claimed he met Congressman Devin Nunes "several times at the Trump Hotel", but that most of his interactions were with Nunes's aide Derek Harvey. Parnas's claim that "they were involved in getting all this stuff on Biden" was substantiated by records released by the House after the interview.[48][37][60]
  • Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who did attend the Ukrainian President's inauguration, informed the Ukrainians that there would be no aid unless an announcement was made to investigate Biden.[26]
  • Parnas was initially pleased to have Trump's former adviser Dowd represent him and believed that it demonstrated he had the President's support. However, it became clear Parnas's interests were not in mind when Dowd visited Parnas in prison. Parnas claimed Dowd "basically start talking to me like a drill sergeant and telling me, giving me orders, like, you know, be a good boy, like, you know."[26]

One of the significant documents discussed during the interview was Giuliani's letter to President-elect Zelensky that was released by the House Intelligence Committee.[61] The letter was seen as evidence that President Trump knew of his attorney's activities on his behalf.[62] Giuliani wrote that he represented the private interests of President Trump with his "knowledge and consent".[63] The letter was presented to the U.S. Senate during the impeachment trial of President Trump.[64]

When asked by Rachel Maddow, Parnas claimed that his decision to speak out was made to protect this country from President Trump and his allies, stating that they are all part of one large "cult."[65]

Text messages with Robert Hyde

[edit]

Included within the documents released by the House in January 2020 were text messages between Parnas and Robert F. Hyde, a Republican candidate for Congress in Connecticut. The messages indicated that Ambassador Yovanovitch was under surveillance and implied she was in possible danger. During the interview with Maddow, Parnas largely discounted this possibility and said Hyde drank a lot.[48] However, during her testimony, the Ambassador stated that she was advised to leave Ukraine on "the next plane" in April 2019 because her security was at risk.[66] Maddow played clips of this testimony during the airing of the interview. The FBI finally visited Hyde to make inquiries on January 16, 2020—the day after the first segment of the interview aired—even though they reportedly had the messages in hand since Parnas's arrest in October 2019.[67] Ukrainian authorities announced they were conducting an investigation that same day.[68] Hyde claimed he was getting the information he was giving to Parnas from a Belgian citizen named Anthony de Caluwe he had met at GOP functions.[58] Initially, de Caluwe denied any involvement and then later claimed it was all a "joke" after evidence was released by the House that supported Hyde's assertions.[58]

An official from the Department of Justice attributed the delay between when they received the messages and finally acted to (???) Parnas and claimed they were unable to read the messages contained within Parnas's iPhone until recently.[69] Parnas's attorney in turn wrote that the Department of Justice sat on documents since December 3, 2019 when the messages from the iPhone were first extracted.[69] Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement a full two days after the texts were revealed and stated "to the best of (his) recollection" never heard any of this.[70] He announced he would look into it but also stated he didn't think anything would come of the investigation.[71]

January 16, 2020 CNN interview

[edit]

Parnas was also interviewed by Anderson Cooper of CNN on January 16, 2020.[72] The primary different claims made by Parnas during this interview were as follows:

  • The first effort to effect a quid pro quo was with former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Poroshenko was asked to support Trump's efforts in exchange for a meeting with the U.S. president in the White House, and other official support of Ukraine.[72]
  • In his interview with Maddow, Parnas already said Ukraine would face losing support and that Vice President Pence would not attend the inauguration of the newly elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy unless he announced an investigation into the Biden. In the CNN interview, Parnas added that the announcement needed to be made within 24 hours or that there would be no chance of any White House visits while Trump was in office.[72]
  • Parnas said there was no other reason than winning the 2020 election and another four years.[72]
  • When Cooper asked Parnas if Pence knew what Giuliani and his associates were planning, Parnas acknowledged that he was unsure whether or not Pence knew “everything we were doing.”.[72]
  • In a meeting with Ukrainian officials, Parnas's said that his voice and authority was that of POTUS.[7]
  • Parnas said, “I thought they were going to shut me up and make me look like the scapegoat".[7]
  • Parnas said he spoke to Giuliani every day, first thing in the morning.[7]

Giuliani's rebuttal

[edit]

On January 20, 2020, Giuliani appeared on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle and claimed he was "heartbroken" by the "stupid lies" told by Parnas the previous week. Giuliani said he was very close with Parnas, even godfather to his child, and very disappointed. He said Parnas was just trying to avoid jail and was telling lies like Michael Cohen. He also said he would not get into a point by point rebuttal of all the claims Parnas made, but would testify to all the facts if he was called as a witness. He welcomed an opportunity to testify where he would inform everyone about "unbelievable amount of corruption that went on between the Democratic Party and Ukraine". Giuliani stressed two areas in which he stated that Parnas had lied.[73][better source needed]

  • During a White House party, Trump did not "deputize" Parnas as a "representative".
  • In 2018, Devin Nunes did not travel to Vienna to meet with former Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin and his passport proves that.[73][better source needed]

Giuliani stressed that owing to these two lies, that nothing in the two Parnas interviews should be believed. Giuliani also insisted that Parnas was wrong when he implicated William Barr. He further stated he never spoke to Barr about it and that it was wrong to accuse Barr of being part of it. When asked if he directed the surveillance of the Ambassador to Ukraine, Giuliani replied, "I can definitely tell you I didn't."[74]

Campaign funding

[edit]

Some of the money to potentially fund efforts by Giuliani, Parnas, and Fruman appears to have come from a Republican donor and Trump supporter Charles Gucciardo. Gucciardo's attorney claimed his client's $500,000 was an investment made in 2018 with Parnas's firm Fraud Guarantee.[75] These funds in turn were claimed to be a retainer fee from Fraud Guarantee to Giuliani.[76][77][75] According to Giuliani, he was "ramping up" the business.[citation needed]

Harry Sargeant III, a billionaire Republican donor, helped bankroll the travels of Parnas and Fruman, thereby supporting their overall efforts to pressure Ukraine to help with Trump's re-election effort.[78] An attorney representing Sargeant said the funds were loans. Dmytro Firtash's Swiss attorney also described a $1 million payment made to Parnas's wife as being a "loan".[17]

Reporters in a Bloomberg News article wrote that it was unlikely President Trump paid for Giuliani's, Parnas's, and Fruman's expensive travels and stays at expensive hotels. Therefore, monies and loans to fund their work in Ukraine on his behalf to win a Federal election appear to be reportable campaign contributions. Further any foreign contributions would have been illegal.[79][citation needed] Bloomberg News is named for, and partly owned by, Michael Bloomberg who was seeking the Democratic nomination to run against President Trump.[citation needed]

Possible Trump meeting

[edit]

On January 24, 2020, ABC News released an audio recording that appeared to be a conversation between Parnas and President Trump.[18][80] The recording may have been made at a dinner gathering held on April 30, 2018, at the Trump International Hotel. On the recording, President Trump can be heard ordering someone, who may have been Johnny DeStefano, to fire Ambassador Yovanovitch.[18][80] Trump's order came after Parnas said something to the effect that it was important to get rid of her first. Parnas's attorney appeared on the Rachel Maddow show that same evening and stated the tape was made by Fruman and given to Parnas. Parnas in turn uploaded it to his document cloud. Parnas's attorney stated that Parnas didn't provide the tape to ABC News.[81] Apparently, the ABC News article prompted Parnas to search his document cloud where he located the full tape that is over an hour long. Parnas's attorney stated the whole tape had been given to the House Intelligence Committee.[citation needed]

The tape was made public on January 25. Trump is heard discussing golf with Jack Nicklaus III (grandson of golfer Jack Nicklaus), and trade deals and steel quotas with Barry Zekelman of Zekelman Industries.[82]

Congressional testimony

[edit]
See also: Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory

At the invitation of committee Democrats, on March 20, 2024, Parnas testified before the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee investigation into the Biden family that was pursuing the impeachment of President Joe Biden.[83][84][85] Parnas testified, in part:[86]

The American people have been lied to, by Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and various cohorts of individuals in government and media positions. They created falsehoods to serve their own interests knowing it would undermine the strength of our nation ... Congressman Pete Sessions, then-Congressman Devin Nunes, Senator Ron Johnson and many others understood they were pushing a false narrative. The same goes for John Solomon, Sean Hannity and media personnel, particularly with Fox News, who used this narrative to manipulate the public ahead of the 2020 elections. Sadly, they are still doing this today as we approach the 2024 elections ... The only information ever pushed on the Bidens and Ukraine has come from one source and one source only: Russia and Russian agents.

Personal life

[edit]

Lev Parnas lives with his wife and five of his six children in Boca Raton, Florida.[87] He is the father of political influencer Aaron Parnas.

Philanthropy

[edit]

Parnas has contributed to Ukrainian-Jewish charities and causes. He is on the board of the Ukrainian-Jewish charity Friends of Anatevka, founded by Ukrainian rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman, to provide a refuge for Ukrainian Jews affected by the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.[88] Parnas and Fruman visited Israel in the summer of 2018 as a part of a delegation, led by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and joined by Anthony Scaramucci. The group met with U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David M. Friedman and Benjamin Netanyahu's son Yair Netanyahu. While in Israel, Parnas and Fruman also met with Ihor Kolomoyskyi, a wealthy Ukrainian oligarch and long-time mentor and patron of President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Bibliography

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See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Lev Parnas

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Lev Parnas is a Florida-based American businessman of Soviet origin who co-founded ventures in the sector, including Global Energy Producers, and in fraud detection services through Fraud Guarantee. He gained national attention as a close associate of , collaborating on private inquiries into Ukrainian political and business networks, including attempts to influence U.S. policy on the removal of Ambassador and to obtain information on corruption allegations tied to figures like and the energy firm . Parnas's political activities included soliciting and disguising over $1 million in contributions from foreign nationals, including a Russian businessman, to support U.S. campaigns and super PACs aligned with , in violation of federal election laws prohibiting foreign influence and donations. In 2019, he was by the U.S. Department of Justice on charges of to commit wire fraud, making false statements to the , and obstructing its investigations through falsified records. A separate accused him of defrauding investors in Fraud Guarantee of more than $2 million by misrepresenting fund uses for personal gain, including cash withdrawals and luxury expenses. Following convictions in 2021 on the counts and related offenses, Parnas was sentenced in June 2022 to 20 months in , highlighting his central role in multiple schemes that exploited U.S. political and financial systems. His legal troubles, which predated but overlapped with his Ukraine-related work, have raised questions about the motivations behind federal scrutiny amid heightened partisan tensions over foreign election interference and proceedings.

Early life and education

Childhood and immigration

Lev Parnas was born in 1972 in Odessa, then part of the within the . Of Jewish descent, he grew up in a family facing systemic under Soviet rule, which contributed to their decision to leave. In 1976, Parnas's family emigrated to the at age four via the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program, seeking refuge from . This migration aligned with a broader wave of Soviet Jewish emigration facilitated by U.S. policies and international pressure on the USSR to allow exits, with over 100,000 leaving between 1970 and 1980 amid discrimination and fears. The family initially settled in , , before moving to , New York, where Parnas was raised in the enclave known for its dense concentration of Soviet émigrés. This community provided cultural continuity through Russian-language institutions and networks, though it was marked by economic hardships typical of assimilation, including limited opportunities and reliance on communal support systems. Parnas later became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Formal education and early influences

Parnas was born on February 6, 1972, in , , to a Jewish family. His family immigrated to the when he was three years old, settling in , New York, where he was raised. He attended and in New York but studied there only briefly and did not graduate from either. Parnas has indicated that his experiences diverged from traditional academic paths toward entrepreneurial activities in and finance. Early influences included his immigrant background and Brooklyn upbringing, which oriented him toward self-made business ventures rather than prolonged formal education; he entered the workforce in trading and soon after his college attempts.

Business career

Early ventures in energy and fraud allegations

In 2018, Lev Parnas co-founded Global Energy Producers, LLC (GEP) with Igor Fruman, presenting it as a venture to exploit sector opportunities amid the Trump administration's policies favoring domestic production. Despite the name and promotional materials claiming partnerships—such as with an oil billionaire—GEP exhibited no substantive operations, financing, employees, or verifiable ties to production or trading. Neither Parnas nor Fruman possessed prior experience in the , and corporate records indicate the entity served primarily as a conduit for financial transactions rather than legitimate activity. Earlier, in 2013, Parnas established Fraud Guarantee, Inc., in alongside David Correia, marketing it as an insurance firm to protect investors from financial scams through and recovery services. The company attracted investments totaling over $1 million by promising secure, audited use of funds for operational expenses, but Parnas and Correia diverted substantial portions to personal uses, including luxury purchases and payments to associates like for consulting fees exceeding $500,000. Investors were deceived with falsified representations, such as claims of independent audits and restricted fund allocation, leading to civil suits and regulatory scrutiny. In March 2022, Parnas pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to conspiring in wire related to Fraud Guarantee, admitting the scheme spanned 2012 to 2019 and involved misleading at least four investors about fund usage. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a final judgment against him in October 2022 for engaging in a fraudulent securities offering, barring him from future violations and ordering . He was sentenced in June 2022 to 20 months imprisonment, with the court noting the irony of defrauding victims through a firm named to combat . Prior to these convictions, Parnas faced multiple civil lawsuits alleging similar misrepresentations in other ventures, contributing to a pattern of unpaid debts and business failures documented in court records.

Expansion into political consulting and fundraising

In the mid-2010s, Lev Parnas began shifting focus from prior energy sector ventures toward political activities, partnering with Igor Fruman to leverage connections in Republican circles for fundraising and influence. By 2018, the pair had formed Global Energy Producers, LLC, through which they funneled contributions to U.S. political entities, including approximately $325,000 to the super PAC America First Action for a total of $1 million in related donations aimed at supporting pro-Trump initiatives, such as efforts to remove U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. These activities positioned Parnas as a connector in fundraising networks, with reports describing him and Fruman as "hustlers" who attended events and sought access to donors and candidates, including providing assistance to Ron DeSantis's 2018 Florida gubernatorial campaign via introductions and coordination. Parnas's foray included soliciting funds under the guise of legitimate business expansion, intertwining political donations with pitches for ventures like Fraud Guarantee, an anti-fraud insurance firm launched around 2018 that promised to protect investors but was later revealed as a for misleading backers about its viability and ties to political figures. Federal investigations determined that many contributions were illegal donations, where U.S. proxies fronted funds ultimately sourced from foreign nationals, including a Ukrainian oligarch, violating prohibitions on foreign influence in U.S. elections under 52 U.S.C. § 30121. The scheme advanced personal business interests, such as securing meetings with U.S. officials on energy deals, while aligning with allies of then-President . This expansion culminated in Parnas's 2019 arrest at Washington Dulles International Airport alongside Fruman, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and violate laws; he was convicted in 2021 on five counts, including making unlawful contributions exceeding $25,000 to influence federal elections. Sentenced to 20 months in prison in June 2022, Parnas's activities highlighted regulatory gaps in tracking opaque political funding, with prosecutors noting the donations' intent to "buy access" to policymakers.

Political associations

Ties to Rudy Giuliani

Lev Parnas established ties with in 2018 through mutual interest in investigating alleged corruption involving the Biden family and the Ukrainian energy company . Parnas, along with Igor Fruman, connected Giuliani with Ukrainian contacts, including facilitating a link to former Ukrainian Prosecutor General in late 2018, who had been ousted amid international pressure over his handling of Burisma probes. This collaboration positioned Parnas as an associate assisting Giuliani's independent inquiries into Ukrainian figures, separate from official U.S. government channels. By September and October 2018, Parnas's interactions with Giuliani's firm had solidified their professional relationship, leading to joint efforts in sourcing information from . Parnas arranged video calls and introductions for Giuliani with Ukrainian officials, such as Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko, to discuss investigations into and related political influence claims. Their work focused on promoting narratives of Ukrainian interference in U.S. elections and Biden family business dealings, with Parnas traveling to in February 2019 after briefing Giuliani on planned meetings. Key joint activities included a July 19, 2019, breakfast meeting at the Trump International Hotel in , where Parnas accompanied Giuliani to discuss policy with then-U.S. Special Envoy , six days before the July 25 Trump-Zelensky phone call. Parnas also joined Giuliani at a event later that year, captured in photographs showing them together amid ongoing -related efforts. These ties extended to and political networking, though Parnas's role drew scrutiny following his October 10, 2019, on federal charges, after which he had lunched with Giuliani hours earlier. The association unraveled amid legal proceedings, with Parnas cooperating with federal prosecutors post-conviction and later claiming in 2024 testimony that Biden-related allegations pursued with Giuliani were unfounded and Kremlin-influenced, though such statements followed his plea deal and may reflect incentivized revisions. Despite this, contemporaneous records confirm Parnas's operational support for Giuliani's Ukraine-focused activities in 2018–2019.

Involvement with Trump campaign and allies

Parnas and his business associate Igor Fruman began engaging with Trump-aligned political entities in 2018 through significant donations aimed at securing influence. Operating via their firm Global Energy Producers, LLC, they funneled over $300,000 to the America First Action super PAC, a key group supporting President Trump's reelection efforts, as well as contributions to other Republican causes exceeding $1 million in total. These funds, later determined to originate from foreign sources including a Russian businessman, were structured to evade U.S. restrictions on non-citizen contributions. The donations granted Parnas access to Trump's inner circle, including attendance at events and interactions with senior administration figures and GOP operatives. Text messages and records indicate Parnas coordinated with Trump allies to arrange meetings, such as attempts to connect with , positioning himself as a conduit for business and policy interests tied to and energy sectors. While not holding an official campaign position, Parnas cultivated relationships with influencers like , leveraging these ties to promote narratives and lobbying efforts aligned with Trump's political priorities, including scrutiny of Democratic opponents. Parnas's activities extended to fundraising solicitations and event participation, where he photographed with Trump and promoted his access to potential donors and partners. This involvement, however, centered on self-interested networking rather than core campaign operations, with Parnas using his proximity to advance ventures like a proposed Florida and Ukrainian energy deals. Federal scrutiny later highlighted how such engagements masked illicit influence-buying, though contemporaneous records show Parnas's role as a peripheral donor seeking leverage within the Trump ecosystem.

Ukraine investigations

Lev Parnas, a Soviet-born American businessman with ties to , engaged in efforts during 2019 to investigate and publicize alleged irregularities involving Joe Biden's influence on Ukrainian policy toward Holdings, the natural gas company where Biden's son Hunter served as a board member from April 2014 to April 2019. These activities centered on the narrative that then-Vice President Biden had pressured to dismiss prosecutor general in March 2016 to obstruct an inquiry into 's founder, , who faced corruption allegations including unreported income of $23 million from 2012 to 2014. Parnas facilitated connections between Giuliani and Ukrainian contacts to gather material supporting claims of Biden family impropriety, including a May 2019 meeting where associates discussed documents purportedly linked to Hunter Biden's activities. Parnas collaborated closely with Giuliani to amplify these inquiries through media channels, notably assisting in the preparation of articles by John Solomon of The Hill that questioned Biden's motives in advocating Shokin's removal, which aligned with broader U.S. and international policies but was framed by Parnas and Giuliani as self-interested protection for . In one instance, Parnas participated in a conference call with Shokin alongside Giuliani and associate Igor Fruman to solicit details on Burisma probes, aiming to substantiate assertions that Shokin's ouster halted legitimate investigations. These pursuits extended to exploring unverified bribery allegations against Zlochevsky, with Parnas later testifying in 2024 that Giuliani had directed him to unearth compromising information on the Bidens to influence public perception ahead of the 2020 U.S. election. Despite intensive efforts, including outreach to Ukrainian prosecutors and officials, Parnas's activities produced no of wrongdoing by , as he himself acknowledged in July 2023 by characterizing subsequent Republican-led probes into related bribery claims as futile "wild goose chases" that confused Ukrainian authorities without yielding substantive findings. Ukrainian prosecutors, including those succeeding Shokin, had not actively pursued cases tied to at the time of his board tenure, and international records indicate Shokin's dismissal was driven by his office's broader failure to combat corruption rather than specific protection. Parnas's role in these inquiries overlapped with his political , but the investigative focus remained on 's operations and Biden's , which involved withholding $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees in 2015-2016 to enforce Shokin's removal—a condition echoed by the and .

Meetings with Ukrainian figures and prosecutors

Parnas facilitated communications between Rudy Giuliani and Ukrainian prosecutors to gather material on alleged corruption involving Burisma Holdings and the Biden family. He arranged a video call between Giuliani and Viktor Shokin, Ukraine's former Prosecutor General ousted in 2016 amid international pressure to combat corruption. Parnas also connected Giuliani with Yuri Lutsenko, who served as Prosecutor General from 2016 to 2019 and had publicly questioned the closure of Burisma probes. In August 2019, Parnas traveled to , where he met with lawmakers and prosecutors to pursue information supporting claims of Ukrainian interference in the U.S. election and Biden-related misconduct. Phone records and messages released from Parnas's devices during congressional inquiries documented ongoing exchanges with Lutsenko throughout 2018 and 2019, including discussions of potential investigations. These interactions formed part of broader efforts by Parnas and associates to pressure Ukrainian officials for political , though Lutsenko later stated in interviews that no formal investigations into the were reopened as a result. In a 2024 congressional statement, Parnas asserted that Shokin admitted during their contacts to lacking evidence of Biden interference in Ukrainian affairs, a claim Shokin has disputed in prior public accounts.

Role in U.S.-Ukraine policy pressures

Parnas collaborated with in a parallel diplomatic channel to , aiming to sideline official U.S. embassy efforts and advance investigations into Holdings and the Biden family. This involved coordinating with Ukrainian officials and prosecutors to prioritize probes that aligned with Trump administration interests, bypassing Ambassador , whom Parnas and Giuliani accused of obstructing such inquiries. Text messages released during the House impeachment inquiry, including those from Parnas, indicated surveillance of Yovanovitch in and direct communications labeling her as an impediment to these goals. In April 2019, Yovanovitch was recalled from following sustained pressure from Giuliani and his associates, including Parnas, who later claimed the ouster was explicitly to eliminate her interference with plans for Biden-related investigations. Parnas asserted in interviews that President Trump personally instructed her removal during a private dinner in 2018, witnessed by Parnas, where Trump reportedly told an aide to "get rid of" her. A recording obtained by congressional investigators, provided by Parnas, captured Trump echoing similar sentiments about Yovanovitch at another event, reinforcing claims of high-level involvement in her dismissal. Parnas further alleged direct linkage between U.S. levers and investigative demands, stating he delivered an to Ukrainian contacts in 2019 that —approximately $391 million in congressionally approved assistance—would remain withheld unless Ukraine publicly announced probes into and his son Hunter's ties to . He claimed Trump was fully aware of these tactics, including the aid hold as a pressure mechanism decided after initial efforts failed, though Trump denied such knowledge and characterized the interactions as routine discussions. These assertions, made amid Parnas's federal indictment on unrelated charges, contributed to the impeachment inquiry's focus on allegations, with documents showing Parnas's communications intertwined personal interests and influence. A watchdog later ruled the aid delay violated the Impoundment Control Act, though causation to specific investigations remained disputed.

Campaign finance charges and arrest

On October 9, 2019, Lev Parnas and his associate Igor Fruman were arrested at while attempting to depart on one-way flights to , , carrying limited luggage. The arrests stemmed from a federal unsealed the following day, October 10, 2019, by a in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charging them with to commit wire fraud and , as well as specific violations of federal laws. The core allegations centered on a scheme in which Parnas and Fruman funneled over $1 million in contributions to U.S. political campaigns and committees using donors and foreign nationals, in violation of prohibitions under the . Prosecutors accused them of disguising the true sources of the funds—primarily from foreign entities, including a Ukrainian official and a Russian businessman—to evade bans on foreign influence in American elections and to circumvent individual contribution limits by routing through U.S.-based proxies. Specific donations included $325,000 to a super PAC supporting a congressional candidate in 2018 and $100,000 to a pro-Trump PAC, all falsely attributed to American donors like themselves and their associates to mask the foreign origins and exceed legal caps. They also allegedly made false statements to the about the donors' identities and nationalities. The charges portrayed the contributions as a means to advance Parnas and Fruman's interests, particularly in the sector, by currying favor with U.S. politicians who could assist in securing favorable policies or investigations, such as those related to Ukrainian energy firms. Federal authorities, including the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office, emphasized that the scheme involved by transmitting falsified records and communications to disguise the illicit funds' paths. Parnas and Fruman were arraigned on October 10, 2019, before Magistrate Zia M. Faruqui, with Parnas held in custody pending further proceedings due to flight risk concerns evidenced by the airport seizure. The case was investigated by the FBI's New York Field Office and the Justice Department's Task Force, highlighting enforcement against foreign meddling in U.S. elections.

Trial, convictions, and sentencing

Parnas's federal trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York commenced in early 2021 and lasted two weeks, during which prosecutors presented evidence that he and his associate Igor Fruman had solicited over $1 million from foreign sources, including a Russian , and routed the funds as disguised U.S. contributions to political campaigns in violation of federal laws. On 22, 2021, after approximately five hours of deliberation, a federal jury convicted Parnas on all six counts charged: two counts of to commit wire , two counts of falsifying records, and two counts of conspiring to violate the by using straw donors and foreign nationals to make prohibited contributions exceeding $5,200 per donor. Separately, on April 14, 2022, Parnas pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the regarding the sources of these contributions. The convictions centered on schemes to disguise foreign money as domestic donations to influence U.S. elections, including efforts to secure favorable regulatory treatment for a proposed Florida marijuana venture backed by the foreign funds. Prosecutors argued these actions demonstrated Parnas's intent to buy political access, while his defense contended the donations were legitimate efforts without intent to deceive. On June 29, 2022, U.S. District Judge sentenced Parnas to 20 months in , three years of supervised release, and $2,322,500 in restitution to the and victims of the fraud, a term below the over six years recommended by prosecutors due to factors including Parnas's partial cooperation with investigations and expressions of remorse during sentencing. Parnas remained free on pending appeal until reporting to in October 2022.

Additional fraud charges and cooperation

In September 2020, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York indicted Parnas on additional charges of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy related to his role in Fraud Guarantee, a Florida-based company he co-founded with David Correia in 2018. The indictment alleged that Parnas and Correia raised over $2 million from at least seven investors by falsely promising the funds would support a legitimate insurance product detecting business fraud, while instead diverting approximately $1 million to personal expenses, luxury travel, and unrelated political contributions. Correia, who had pleaded guilty to related fraud and false statements charges in October 2020, cooperated with authorities and provided evidence against Parnas in the case. On March 25, 2022, Parnas pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiring to commit wire , admitting that he and Correia had knowingly provided false information to investors about Fraud Guarantee's operations and fund usage. This plea followed his October 2021 conviction on separate violations, and it formed part of a consolidated sentencing. Prosecutors described the scheme as particularly ironic given the company's name and Parnas's prior public persona as an anti-fraud advocate. During sentencing proceedings on June 29, 2022, Parnas received a 20-month prison term, three years of supervised release, and over $2.3 million in restitution, encompassing the wire fraud conspiracy alongside his campaign finance and false statements convictions. His defense attorneys argued for leniency, citing unsuccessful attempts by Parnas to cooperate with prosecutors on broader investigations, but federal authorities rejected these overtures, stating they yielded no substantial assistance. No evidence emerged of Parnas providing material aid to authorities in the Fraud Guarantee matter beyond his own guilty plea, distinguishing it from Correia's earlier cooperation.

Public testimony and statements

Congressional appearances during impeachment

In September 2019, as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, the House Oversight and Reform Committee, along with the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Judiciary Committees, requested documents from Lev Parnas related to his business dealings, Ukraine activities, and connections to Rudy Giuliani. Subpoenas were issued on October 10, 2019, by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, compelling production of records by October 16, including communications, financial documents, and materials pertinent to U.S.-Ukraine relations and investigations into the Bidens. Following Parnas's federal indictment on October 9, 2019, for violations, he initially did not comply with the subpoenas, citing Fifth Amendment concerns. In November 2019, Parnas offered to participate in , but legal constraints from his ongoing criminal case limited cooperation. A federal judge ruled on January 3, 2020, permitting Parnas to turn over seized documents and data to the House Intelligence Committee, overriding objections from prosecutors who argued it could interfere with his defense. The committees received materials including text messages, phone records, handwritten notes, and electronic files from Parnas, which were publicly released in batches starting January 14, 2020, and incorporated into the impeachment record. These documents detailed Parnas's coordination with Giuliani on matters, contacts with Ukrainian officials like , and interactions with U.S. figures such as Devin Nunes's aide, but did not include live from Parnas himself. House Democrats referenced the in arguments for additional witnesses during the Senate trial but did not secure Parnas's appearance, as Republicans declined to subpoena or hear him. Parnas later claimed he had offered testimony during the 2019 House inquiry but was not called, and in January 2020, he attempted to deliver evidence directly to offices but was rebuffed. No formal congressional deposition or hearing appearance by Parnas occurred during the proceedings, with his contributions limited to the document submissions amid ongoing legal proceedings.

Media interviews and document releases

In January 2020, Lev Parnas provided thousands of documents from his cell phones to the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, including text messages, voicemails, and handwritten notes detailing efforts to investigate the in and remove U.S. Ambassador . One such note, attributed to Parnas, outlined tasks like pressing 's president to announce Biden probes and "get rid of ." The committee publicly released batches of these materials on January 14, 15, and 17, revealing communications between Parnas and , as well as voicemails from Giuliani and attorney urging action on matters. Parnas also shared select recordings and documents directly with media outlets amid his federal indictment. On January 25, 2020, he released audio of a 2018 dinner with Donald Trump, where Trump reportedly discussed Ukraine policy and Paul Manafort's situation, though the recording's context and authenticity were debated by Trump associates. Parnas conducted multiple high-profile interviews in January 2020, primarily with outlets aligned against Trump, asserting that the president "knew exactly what was going on" regarding Ukraine investigations and that efforts to oust Yovanovitch originated from the Oval Office. In sessions with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on January 16 and 22, he described a coordinated pressure campaign involving Giuliani and Ukrainian figures, while CNN's Anderson Cooper interview on January 16 featured similar claims alongside newly shared texts implicating Republican lawmakers. These appearances, occurring before his 2021 conviction on unrelated campaign finance charges, positioned Parnas as a key impeachment witness, though critics noted his legal vulnerabilities and prior alignment with Giuliani undermined his credibility. Post-conviction interviews were less frequent but continued his anti-Trump narrative. In a March 2024 NBC News discussion, Parnas recanted prior Biden-related allegations as fabricated, citing regret over his role in promoting unverified claims. A June 2024 appearance reiterated his cooperation with authorities and criticism of Trump, emphasizing personal costs to his family. These statements aligned with his plea deal cooperation but lacked independent corroboration for new assertions.

Post-conviction developments

Incarceration and release

Parnas began serving his 20-month sentence on September 12, 2022, after reporting to a federal correctional institution in . The sentence stemmed from convictions on violations, wire fraud, and false statements to the , with U.S. District Judge imposing the term alongside three years of supervised release and $2,322,500 in restitution on June 29, 2022. On February 28, 2023, Parnas was transferred from prison to a community confinement program in Miami, Florida, reflecting standard procedures for lower-risk inmates nearing sentence completion, accounting for good conduct time credits that typically reduce served time to approximately 85% of the imposed term. He completed the remainder of his under home confinement by 2023, transitioning thereafter to the supervised release phase. During supervised release, Parnas received permission in September 2023 to use marijuana for medical purposes, as approved by the U.S. Probation Office, given the absence of aggravating factors in his case and alignment with federal guidelines allowing discretion for non-violent offenders. No or commutation was granted, and his release followed routine Bureau of Prisons calculations without reported appeals or modifications to the original term.

Shift to anti-Trump advocacy

Following the completion of his 20-month prison sentence via home confinement in September 2023, Lev Parnas began engaging in public activities opposing , whom he had previously supported as a campaign operative. In February 2024, he published the Shadow Diplomacy, detailing his past involvement in Trump-related efforts and expressing remorse for aiding what he described as corrupt activities. That same month, Parnas launched the podcast "Lev Remembers," where he discussed his experiences and criticized Trump-era operations, attracting a few thousand listeners per episode. On March 20, 2024, Parnas testified as a witness for House Democrats during an Oversight Committee hearing on the Republican-led , asserting that there was no evidence of Biden family and that allegations against them stemmed from Russian-sourced promoted by Trump allies, including . He claimed Giuliani ignored his warnings about working with Russian agents and described the efforts to unearth Biden dirt as reliant on figures like the indicted ex-FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, whose statements were tied to Russian intelligence. Parnas characterized his prior association with Trump and Giuliani as cult-like, with his 2019 arrest serving as a "" that prompted his cooperation with federal probes. In summer 2024, Parnas met with to apologize for his role in spreading unsubstantiated claims against the Biden family. By September, he promoted the MSNBC Films documentary From Russia with Lev, directed by and executive-produced by , which premiered on September 20, 2024, and detailed his journey from Trump supporter to critic, including the scheme that contributed to Trump's 2019 ; the film drew 2.2 million viewers. At a screening of the documentary on September 13, 2024, Parnas described Trump's following as a "cult" he had helped lead, stating, "I was one of the leaders of that cult. I trained people in how to brainwash people in that cult," and emphasized exposing Trump's actions before the November 2024 election, which he called "the most important election of our lives." Parnas has articulated his motivations as seeking atonement for past actions and preventing Trump's re-election, telling interviewers, "I’m looking for atonement. I want to make up for what I did," while alleging Trump "micromanages and is aware of all the corruption and criminality that’s going on." He planned a late-2024 speaking tour, "Tour America With Lev," targeting swing states like and to further oppose Trump. These efforts position Parnas as a remorseful figure among anti-Trump advocates, though his credibility remains tied to his prior convictions for violations and his cooperation with authorities post-arrest.

Personal life

Family and relationships

Parnas is married to Parnas, with whom he resides in . The couple has appeared together publicly, including at events related to Parnas's legal proceedings and media appearances in 2019 and 2024. He is the father of six children, including three under the age of ten, two teenagers, and an adult son, , a who has publicly recounted family involvement in political activities. Aaron is from a prior marriage, while the others are shared with . Parnas was previously married to Barbara Parnas, who filed for divorce in 2005, citing an alleged affair by Parnas; the couple had maintained a "lavish " prior to the split.

Philanthropic claims and scrutiny

Parnas has been involved with of Anatevka, a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting the establishment and development of Anatevka, a Jewish village in designed as a refuge for fleeing conflict, drawing inspiration from the setting. He served as a member of the organization's U.S. board alongside associate Igor Fruman, contributing to efforts that included for community infrastructure, , and in the region. The charity, linked to Ukrainian Chief Rabbi , has facilitated projects such as housing and synagogues, with promotional events featuring high-profile figures like as honorary mayor of Anatevka. This philanthropic association intersected with Parnas's broader activities in , where board-related trips and events coincided with his pursuits of political influence, such as arranging meetings with Ukrainian officials and advancing business interests in energy and licensing. Critics and federal prosecutors have highlighted these overlaps, suggesting potential use of charitable networks for access and leverage rather than purely humanitarian ends, though no charges directly implicated the nonprofit in wrongdoing. Parnas's credibility in claiming altruistic motives has been undermined by his October 2021 conviction on six federal counts of fraud, including illegal straw donations exceeding $1 million to U.S. political entities, and his March 2022 guilty plea to wire fraud for defrauding investors in the "Fraud Guarantee" scheme, where he raised over $2 million under about business viability. During his , defense arguments portrayed him as a legitimate businessman with interests in U.S. and legalization efforts, while prosecutors depicted him as a serial deceiver who knowingly violated laws for personal gain, casting doubt on self-reported philanthropic intentions amid patterns of . No independent audits or verified donation amounts from Parnas to Anatevka have been publicly detailed beyond board affiliation, and his 20-month prison sentence in June 2022 further contextualized such claims within a record of financial impropriety.

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  75. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/16/lev-parnas-trump-impeachment-trial-099781
  76. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/parnas-former-ukraine-fixer-turned-away-from-trump-impeachment-trial-idUSKBN1ZS2KF/
  77. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-intelligence-committee-possession-video-audio-recordings-giuliani/story?id=67276448
  78. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/13/giuliani-associate-shares-ukraine-material-ahead-of-trump-impeachment.html
  79. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lev-parnas-house-democrats-release-new-ukraine-documents-from-indicted-giuliani-associate-today-2020-01-14/
  80. https://www.npr.org/2020/01/15/796593183/new-lev-parnas-documents-suggest-u-s-ambassador-was-under-surveillance-in-ukrain
  81. https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/14/politics/read-lev-parnas-house-impeachment-investigators
  82. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/15/house-democrats-parnas-evidence-099413
  83. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sxSGKB3Sj0
  84. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/giuliani-associate-parnas-trump-knew-ukraine/story?id=68314794
  85. https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/full-video-rachel-maddow-interviews-lev-parnas-part-2-77179461647
  86. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVnZVuhOycs
  87. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JKraI_Rh6g
  88. https://www.justsecurity.org/68108/15-questions-the-media-should-be-asking-lev-parnas/
  89. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-diBnOEdFUk
  90. https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2022/09/12/giulianis-former-associate-lev-parnas-reports-to-prison/
  91. https://nypost.com/2023/09/11/giuliani-associate-lev-parnas-can-use-pot-while-on-probation/
  92. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article292330359.html
  93. https://www.msnbc.com/lev
  94. https://www.facebook.com/gettyimages/posts/lev-parnas-and-wife-svetlana-parnas-arrive-at-federal-court-in-new-york-city-par/10156568791081297/
  95. https://www.yahoo.com/news/part-cult-miami-lev-parnas-174653764.html
  96. https://abcnews.go.com/US/giuliani-associate-lev-parnas-sentenced-20-months-unlawful/story?id=85926158
  97. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/01/lev-parnas-son-trump-tell-all-433790
  98. https://dcdoxfest.com/people/lev-parnas/
  99. https://forward.com/culture/433111/arrested-giuliani-associates-anatevka-fiddler-on-the-roof-impeachment/
  100. https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/26/app-politics-section/kfile-giuliani-london-trip
  101. https://www.jta.org/2019/10/11/united-states/orthodox-synagogue-association-honored-2-giuliani-associates-months-before-they-were-arrested
  102. https://www.timesofisrael.com/inside-anatevka-the-curious-chabad-hamlet-in-ukraine-where-giuliani-is-mayor/
  103. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-27/rudy-giuliani-has-curious-links-to-a-jewish-village-in-ukraine
  104. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-ukraine-scandal-follow-the-money
  105. https://www.occrp.org/en/investigation/meet-the-florida-duo-helping-giuliani-investigate-for-trump-in-ukraine
  106. https://www.jta.org/2019/10/16/ny/how-anatevka-got-drawn-into-impeachment-mess
  107. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/nyregion/lev-parnas-trial.html
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