By Hank Russell
Two Oyster Bay residents pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York of the U.S. District Court on July 30 to illegally contributing money to political campaigns and for their roles in a $30 million money laundering ring.
According to a report from Courthouse News Service, Sherry Xue Li admitted that she scammed over 150 investors out of their money by setting up a fake real estate project, made false claims that she was politically connected and could get green cards for immigrants. She and Liambo Wang, who also pleaded guilty at an earlier date, said Li was building “Thompson Education Center,” a private school based in upstate New York in Sullivan County. The pair hired contractors and engineers to draw up plans and do minor work on the non-existent school.
CNS also reported that Li and Wang used their investors’ funds to contribute to political campaigns and committees — in violation of federal election law — and attend political fundraisers. At the events, Li posed for photos with high-profile elected officials, including President Donald Trump. They then sent the photo to current and prospective investors to give them the impression they can have access to the elected officials as well.
In the complaint, CNS reported, Li and Wang took $93,000 each from 12 investors to attend a June 28, 2017 fundraiser for Trump. They then took $600,000 of the money they collected and donated it to the fundraising committee.
They also convinced investors, many of whom were from China, to hand over $500,000 and, in return, they would be made permanent legal residents through the government’s EB-5 investment visa program. The investors never received a green card.
The complaint found that some of the money was used on personal expenses. According to Long Island Business News, Li and Wang set up shell companies with the investors’ funds, then spent the money on political campaigns, clothing, jewelry, residential properties, meals at high-end restaurants and vacations.
Li, 53, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the United States by obstructing the Federal Election Commission’s administration of campaign finance laws. She faces up to 20 years in prison and will forfeit $31.5 million, as well as property at three locations.
Wang, 48, pleaded guilty in 2024 to unlawful monetary transactions and conspiracy to defraud the United States. He was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
“Li defrauded more than 150 victims in the United States and abroad through years of lies and deception and sought to profit by selling access to the democratic process,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement. “In doing so, she attempted to corrupt a fundamental institution in this country — fair and transparent elections free from unlawful foreign influence.”