Disgraced Democratic Donor Hsu Indicted In New York
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NEW York -- A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Norman Hsu, a top Democratic fundraiser accused of cheating investors of at least $20 million and using some of the money to make illegal donations to political campaigns.

In the 15-count indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the government accused the 56-year-old clothing-industry entrepreneur of duping investors nationwide with a massive Ponzi scheme.

The government said Hsu also violated federal campaign finance laws by making contributions to various political candidates in the names of others.

A message left with a lawyer for Hsu was not immediately returned.

Federal prosecutors said Hsu hoped his lavish campaign contributions would help draw money to his scheme by raising his public profile.

To achieve his aims, prosecutors said, Hsu pressured many of his victims to contribute thousands of dollars to various candidates for president and Congress.

According to the California Attorney General's Office, Hsu was the mastermind of a "Ponzi-type" scheme to buy and sell latex gloves that defrauded about 20 investors throughout the state out of approximately $1 million.

A Ponzi scheme pays high "profits" to investors using money from new investors to the scheme, without actually generating revenues from any real business.

Hsu never showed up for his sentencing in 1992, and eluded authorities for 15 years, later surfacing as a major Democratic Party contributor.

On Aug. 31, Hsu surrendered to authorities in Redwood City, only to post $2 million cash bail later that day.

He then failed to show up for a scheduled bail hearing and a judge issued a no-bail warrant for his arrest.

High-Level Democratic Donor

According to Federal Election Commission records, a Norman Hsu -- with apparel-related business names and addresses listed in New York and California -- contributed $260,000 to political parties, most since 2004.

Recipients included the Democratic Party and Democratic U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Barack Obama, D-Ill., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., John Kerry, D-Mass., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

Hsu was once a valued supporter of Clinton, raising more than $1.2 million for her and other Democratic candidates in recent years.

Clinton's presidential campaign returned $850,000 in donations raised by Hsu.

Clinton, previously had planned only to give to charity $23,000 she received from Hsu for her presidential and senatorial campaigns and to her political action committee, HillPac.