NEWARK — A Bergen County man was sentenced Thursday to a year of federal probation after admitting he helped disguise $80,000 in foreign contributions to Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign committee in order to help Albanian politician attend a campaign event.
Bilal Shehu, of Paramus, previously pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court in Newark to charges he “knowingly and willfully” made foreign contributions to the committee, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.
The case stemmed from an appearance Shehu and Edi Rama, head of the Albanian Socialist Party and now the country’s prime minister, made at an October 2012 Obama campaign event in San Francisco.
Prosecutors say Rama was denied admission to the event but managed to be photographed with the president.
In June 2013, U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from California, sent letters to the Justice Department and the Federal Elections Commission calling for an investigation of Shehu and Rama’s visit to the fundraiser.
Rohrabacher questioned whether Shehu, identified as a limousine driver, could have afforded the tickets, which cost $40,000 apiece.
Prosecutors say Shehu later admitted receiving an $80,000 wire transfer that he used to pay for the tickets.
Another man, William Argeros, also has pleaded guilty to helping funnel the funds to Obama’s fundraising committee. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 14, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors say nobody on the joint fundraising committee has been accused of wrongdoing in the case.
Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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