Why would Rudy Giuliani associate and indicted dealmaker Lev Parnas name his company “Fraud Guarantee”?
Is there a worse name for a company with the stated mission of helping “reduce the risk of fraud”?
Well, Parnas apparently had a reason for the unusual name: Google search results.
When Parnas and Fraud Guarantee co-founder David Correia set up the company, Parnas picked the name so that people Googling the words “Parnas” and “Fraud” would see something positive — Parnas’ business — rather than his long history of legal trouble.
The Wall Street Journal reported the factoid on Thursday citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
Parnas, Correia, Parnas’ other business partner Igor Fruman and the businessman Andrey Kukushkin were all charged this month for an alleged conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws by funneling foreign cash into U.S. elections. They’ve all pleaded not guilty.
Perhaps ironically for the Fraud Guarantee founders, their alleged scheme was publicized by a disgruntled investor who sued Parnas to get back $500,000 the investor had given a failed movie project.
When the investor saw reports of the $325,000 donation from another Parnas and Fruman company to a pro-Trump super PAC, the investor sued in court and argued the money should go to him.
