Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that his political committee will return a $50,000 donation received last year from two South Florida businessmen who were arrested Wednesday and accused of funneling illicit contributions into state and federal campaigns.
Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman — who helped President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, look into his political opponents in Ukraine — were charged by federal prosecutors in New York with attempting to funnel foreign money into U.S. politics. The alleged scheme included straw donations in which the duo masked the source of their political contributions by sending them through a newly formed Delaware corporation.
In June of 2018, they gave the Friends of Ron DeSantis political committee $50,000 through a company called Global Energy Producers. They made the contribution one day before Trump endorsed DeSantis for Florida governor.
Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.