A federal judge in Central Islip, New York handed down a nine-year prison sentence Friday to a businesswoman who orchestrated an elaborate financial fraud that bilked foreign investors out of more than $30 million and illegally directed portions of those funds toward American political campaigns, including events supporting former President Donald Trump.
Sherry Xue Li, 54, of Oyster Bay, must also surrender $31.5 million along with properties in three different locations and compensate her victims through restitution payments.
Li, who has remained in custody since authorities arrested her in 2022, entered guilty pleas last year to charges of money laundering conspiracy and conspiring to defraud the United States by interfering with Federal Election Commission oversight of campaign finance regulations.
Her accomplice, Lianbo Wang, also admitted guilt to comparable charges and received a five-year prison term.
While Li’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment Friday, U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella declared that she “faces justice for her cynical schemes.”
“She peddled false promises and outright lies to her many investors and stuffed her pockets while they suffered devastating losses,” he said in a statement.
Federal prosecutors detailed how Li and Wang spent years targeting investors, particularly those from China, convincing them to contribute $500,000 apiece to a nonexistent development venture while falsely guaranteeing the investments would secure permanent U.S. residency status.
Rather than funding any legitimate project, the pair, both naturalized American citizens, diverted millions from these investments to cover lavish personal spending on designer clothes, expensive jewelry, luxury homes, exotic vacations, and fine dining experiences, according to federal authorities.
Prosecutors revealed that Li and Wang marketed access to American political figures to their victims and converted the proceeds into unlawful political contributions.
In a particularly brazen example, the duo collected $93,000 from each investor for tickets to a 2017 Trump campaign fundraising event, then converted that money into $600,000 in prohibited donations to the organizing committee.
Li managed to pose for a photograph with Trump and First Lady Melania Trump during the gathering, later exploiting that image to attract additional investments for her fraudulent development scheme, prosecutors stated.
Federal authorities emphasized that the political campaigns and committees had no knowledge of the illegal activity, and no criminal charges were filed against any political organizations.
