Paul Erickson, the longtime GOP operative and boyfriend of admitted Russian agent Maria Butina, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on 11 counts of wire fraud and money laundering.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Erickson’s home state of South Dakota brought the case, alleging Erickson ran a criminal scheme through a chain of assisted living homes and defrauded investors through a separate company. Erickson pleaded not guilty at a Wednesday arraignment.
The case appears unrelated to the foreign agent indictment brought against Butina by in Washington, D.C. last year.
Prosecutors in the D.C. case identified Erickson as the conduit between Butina and top officials in the world of GOP politics, including at the National Rifle Association.
Butina pleaded guilty to one conspiracy charge in that case in December, agreeing to cooperate with the investigation.
Read the full indictment against Erickson below.
