Manafort, Gates federal indictment details multiple purchases in Virginia

WASHINGTON — The federal indictment charging Paul Manafort and Richard Gates with 12 counts including conspiracy, money laundering and fraud lists five Virginia companies the two men used in the alleged fraud scheme.

Manafort used his “hidden overseas wealth to enjoy a lavish lifestyle in the U.S.,” the indictment said, outlining how Manafort used money from an account in Cyprus to purchase his home in Arlington in 2012 for $1.9 million. However President Donald Trump’s former campaign chair did not report it on his annual tax return, the court documents said.

“After Manafort used his offshore accounts to purchase real estate in the United States, he took out mortgages on the properties thereby allowing Manafort to have the benefits of liquid income without paying taxes on it,” the indictment said.

There was also spending between both the men in Virginia using illegal funds, the documents say.

It lists $125,000 which Manafort spent on Virginia contractor Lucicle Consultants Limited and nearly $935,000 spent at an antique rug store in Arlington, Virginia. In all, Manafort spent $12 million on personal items, for which he did not pay taxes, the indictment said.

Gates, whom the documents refer to as Manafort’s “right hand man,” allegedly used money from offshore accounts to pay for his mortgage, his children’s tuition and decorating the interior of his Virginia home.

Manafort’s home is mentioned more than once the 31-page indictment. Manafort and Gates approved a letter to the Department of Justice reportedly denying acknowledgment of any involvement lobbying for foreign governments, the documents said. But a court-ordered search of Manfort’s Virginia home turned up documents to the contrary, detailing lobbying dating before the November 2016 election.

Manafort and Gates also solicited two D.C. law firms as part of the scheme to lobby the U.S. on behalf of foreign entities; however, the companies are not named. The two men paid those firms $2 million out of offshore accounts, the documents said.

The five Virginia-based companies listed in the indictment along with their “date of creation” are all owned by Paul Manafort, according to the court documents.