NEW YORK — Sherry Xue Li, a New York businesswoman who pleaded guilty to federal charges tied to money laundering and campaign-finance law violations, was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison, federal prosecutors said. The sentence was imposed after prosecutors described a scheme that they said raised more than $30 million from foreign investors and then diverted money for personal expenses and political purposes.
Li, 54, of Oyster Bay, pleaded guilty last year to money laundering conspiracy and to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by obstructing the Federal Election Commission’s administration of campaign finance laws, according to the AP report. Prosecutors said she was detained after her arrest in 2022, and they described the scheme as involving a fictitious development project and promises tied to immigration status.
Prosecutors said Li and her co-defendant, Lianbo Wang, convinced investors—many of them from China—to contribute $500,000 each to the fake project. The pitch, prosecutors said, falsely promised that the contributions would guarantee lawful permanent resident status in the United States, even though Li and Wang were described as naturalized U.S. citizens.
In court, prosecutors said the two instead used millions of the invested funds for personal expenses, including clothing, jewelry, housing, vacation travel and upscale dining. Prosecutors also said they sold investors access to U.S. politicians and used that access-related business to funnel proceeds into illegal contributions to U.S. political campaigns and committees.
Federal prosecutors said one example involved charging investors $93,000 each for admission to a 2017 Trump fundraiser, then using the money to make illegal donations totaling $600,000 to the committee hosting the event. The report said Li and Wang used a photograph of Li with President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump from the event to solicit donations to the fake development project.
After Li’s sentencing, her lawyer did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment, the report said. U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said Li “faces justice for her cynical schemes,” according to the AP report, adding that she “peddled false promises and outright lies to her many investors and stuffed her pockets while they suffered devastating losses.”
The AP report said Li was also ordered to forfeit $31.5 million and property at three locations. Prosecutors said the campaigns and committees involved were unaware of the scheme, and they said no criminal allegations of wrongdoing were lodged against them.
Prosecutors said Li’s co-defendant, Wang, also pleaded guilty to similar charges and was sentenced to five years in prison.