Mueller witness who testified against Russians fears for his life: Court filing

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Mueller witness who testified against Russians fears for his life: Court filing

Prosecutors say Pinedo’s crime calls for a 12- to 18-month prison sentence, but his attorney, Jeremey Lessem, has asked for a non-custodial sentence citing how Pinedo “has suffered, and will continue to suffer, in ways far beyond what anyone else convicted of a similar offense would expect.” He cited the attention brought by his involvement in Mueller’s investigation and fear of retribution from the Russian government.

In an effort to secure a lesser sentence for his client, Lessem argued that Pinedo’s testimony to a federal grand jury “assisted in the indictment of 13 Russian nationals and 3 business entities.” Pinedo volunteered information “knowing full well that testifying against foreign agents, especially Russian foreign nationals potentially working directly for the Kremlin, meant putting his own safety at serious risk,” the filing says.

MORE: One year into investigation, Mueller shows no signs of letting up

“In a time when those critical of Russia are being murdered,” Lessem wrote Wednesday night, “Mr. Pinedo’s cooperation with the investigation was an act that directly undermined his, and his family’s, safety.”

Mueller witness who testified against Russians fears for his life: Court filing

AFP/Getty Images, FILEA tourist boat breaks through the frozen Moskva river outside the Kremlin in Moscow on March 13, 2018.

In its own filing, the special counsel’s office did not take a position on the sentence to be imposed, but noted that Pinedo’s “prompt acceptance of responsibility saved the government significant time and resources in the investigation.”

Special counsel prosecutors said Pinedo bought and sold bank account numbers over the internet with the intention of allowing his customers to circumvent security verification processes for digital payment companies such as PayPal.

In a February indictment of the Internet Research Agency, a St. Petersburg-based “troll factory,” the special counsel wrote that Russians purchased the fraudulent bank account numbers in order to register accounts with PayPal. The Russians then used PayPal to pay for advertisements on Facebook and other “expenses such as buttons, flags, and banners for rallies.”

MORE: 13 Russian nationals indicted in Mueller investigation on charges related to meddling in US elections

MORE: ‘Firewall counsel’ to protect government secrets in Russian election meddling case

“Never in his wildest dreams could he have foreseen that providing bank account information to set up Pay Pal accounts could be used to interfere with a presidential election,” Lessem wrote on Wednesday.

Mueller has filed indictments against 25 Russians and three Russian entities to date with crimes related to meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Two other cooperating witnesses in that probe – Dutch lawyer Alex van der Zwaan and former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos – have already been sentenced to prison for lying to federal investigators.

Pinedo’s sentencing is scheduled for October 10.

Sourse: abcnews.go.com

Mueller witness who testified against Russians fears for his life: Court filing

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