Hotel executive and Democratic fundraiser Sant Singh Chatwal pleaded guilty on Thursday in New York to witness tampering and conspiracy to evade campaign finance laws, the Associated Press reports.
Chatwal had raised at least $100,000 for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign against Barack Obama. […]
According to the Justice Department, Chatwal made more than $180,000 in donations to three candidates via straw donors, who were then reimbursed.
There is no indication the candidates were aware of the scheme.
In November 2009, he was among the celebrities, major Democratic fundraisers and businessmen invited to Obama's first state dinner.
He also was a guest at then-President Bill Clinton's state dinner for India in 2000 and helped arrange an earthquake-relief visit by the former president to India in 2001.
Chatwal was CEO until earlier this month of Hampshire, which owns and manages hotels in New York, Miami, the United Kingdom, Thailand, and India.