Oyster Bay Resident Pleads Guilty to $30 Million Investment Fraud Scheme and Selling Foreign Nationals Access to Prominent U.S. Politicians

Earlier this week, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Sherry Xue Li pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the United States by obstructing the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC’s) administration of campaign finance laws. Li orchestrated a nearly decade-long scheme to defraud investors in a fictitious development project out of more than $30 million. As part of the scheme, Li and her co-defendant Lianbo Wang falsely promised those investors that their investments would guarantee them lawful permanent resident status in the United States. Li and Wang also sold foreign investors access to U.S. politicians at fundraisers by collecting foreign-sourced funds from them and unlawfully contributing those funds to U.S. political campaigns and committees