A federal jury Thursday convicted US Representative Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska on one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators.
On October 19, 2021, a federal jury charged Fortenberry with concealing information and making false statement to investigators regarding illegal contributions from a foreign national to Fortenberry’s 2016 re-election campaign. Under US law, foreign nationals cannot make contributions to a federal campaign. It also is illegal for the true source of campaign contributions to be disguised by funneling the money through third-party conduits.
According to evidence presented during the trial, Fortenberry lied to and misled authorities during an interview at his Lincoln home in March 2019 and a follow-up meeting four months later in Washington. The two interviews were conducted by federal authorities who were looking into illegal $30,000 contributions to Fortenberry’s re-election campaign made by a foreign billionaire. The foreign billionaire was identified as Gilbert Chagoury. Chagoury was said to have donated the funds through “straw donors” who attended a Fortenberry campaign fundraiser held in Los Angeles during early 2016.
On March 23, 2019, Fortenberry falsely told investigators that he was unaware of ever being told that illegal campaign contributions were being given to his campaign, that the individuals who made contributions at the 2016 fundraiser were all publicly disclosed, and that he was not aware of any contributions to his campaign from a foreign national.
On July 18, 2019, Fortenberry made additional false statements to federal investigators and prosecutors, including denying he was aware of any illicit donations made during the 2016 fundraiser, denying that he was directly told that $30,000 in illegal cash was provided at the 2016 fundraiser, and stating that he would have been “horrified” to learn about the illegal conduit contributions.
US District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. scheduled a June 28 sentencing hearing. Each of the three felony charges carry a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
