Patten is a former business partner of Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian national indicted by Mueller and accused of having ties to Russian intelligence
. In Patten’s guilty plea he also admitted to arranging for a U.S. citizen to act as a straw purchaser to pay $50,000 for four tickets to the inauguration of President Donald Trump on behalf of a Ukrainian oligarch, who reimbursed Patten through a Cypriot account.Patten’s lawyer had asked for a sentence of probation, saying his case was unlike other FARA prosecutions, which have typically involved a lobbyist attempting to conceal the identity of the client and the source of funds.
Prosecutors had not suggested a specific sentence but said leniency was warranted given Patten’s co-operation with the special counsel’s probe. Federal prosecutors in Washington, who started investigating Patten after receiving a referral from Mueller, said in a court filing on Monday that Patten met or spoke with government investigators on the phone nine times.
He was also willing to serve as a witness in one of two cases against Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, who had also worked for the Opposition Bloc. Manafort ultimately pleaded guilty, obviating the need for a trial. Patten’s case has sparked interest in Washington amid a widening crackdown by the Justice Department on undisclosed lobbying.
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