US woman who funnelled Chinese investor money to Trump campaign pleads guilty
Sherry Li, a New York businesswoman, promised her victims US permanent residency and sold access to politicians
A New York businesswoman has pleaded guilty in connection with a financial scheme that ripped off more than US$30 million from foreign investors and funnelled some of the stolen money into US political campaigns, including a 2017 fundraiser for President Donald Trump during his first term.
Sherry Xue Li, 48, of Oyster Bay, pleaded guilty on Wednesday in federal court on Long Island to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the US by obstructing the Federal Election Commission’s administration of campaign finance laws. She faces up to 20 years in prison and is set to be sentenced on December 5.
Her lawyer, Kevin Keating, declined to comment on the plea and the charges on Wednesday. She has been detained since her arrest in 2022.
Li’s co-defendant, Lianbo Wang, pleaded guilty to similar charges in March 2024 and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Prosecutors say the scheme went on for nearly a decade. Li and Wang coaxed investors, many of whom were from China, into contributing US$500,000 each to a fictitious development project, with a false promise to guarantee them lawful permanent resident status in the US, authorities said.
They used millions of dollars from those investments for personal expenses, including clothing, jewellery, housing, holiday travel and upscale dining, officials said.
