Gov: Fraudster raised money pitching Giuliani as firm's face

NEW YORK (AP) — A fraudster facing sentencing next week lured one investor by bragging that Rudy Giuliani had agreed to be the face of a fraud-busting company that was itself a fraud, prosecutors said Monday.

The revelation was included in papers filed late Monday in Manhattan federal court as prosecutors urged a judge to sentence David Correia next week to about three years in prison.

The West Palm Beach, Florida, man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission.

His lawyer asked in papers filed last week that Correia serve no prison time.

But prosecutors said he deserves 33 to 41 months in prison for a fraud that cheated seven individuals of over $2 million. The government said much of the money was diverted so Correia and co-defendants could live lavishly, though Correia's lawyer says he got only $43,650 out of $2.3 million raised.

They said he also doesn’t seem contrite despite his claims of having changed. Prosecutors noted that Correia did not mention his victims and the millions of dollars they lost once in his eight-page letter to the judge.

Prosecutors described how Correia, over a six-year period, repeatedly exaggerated, lied about and otherwise misled investors about how much money had been raised and the prospects for “Fraud Guarantee,” a company whose purpose was to protect investors in companies from being defrauded.

In doing so, they told how Correia used the company's association with Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and personal lawyer to Republican ex-President Donald Trump, to entice an investor to put money into the company.

In court papers, Giuliani was identified as “Attorney-1," a lawyer who was assisting the company in exchange for a $500,000 fee....