New York man convicted of illegal straw donor scheme during President Trump's reelection campaign

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NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City man has been convicted of conducting an illegal straw donor scheme in 2019 during President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, prosecutors said Wednesday.

A federal jury in Brooklyn found Xinyue “Daniel” Lou guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of making contributions in the name of others, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella.

The verdict was reached after a trial that lasted roughly six days; jurors deliberated for about three hours, the office said.

Lou, a 59-year-old resident of the New York City borough of Staten Island, remains free on bond. He's due to be sentenced Feb, 24, 2026, and faces up to 10 years in prison.

Nocella, who was appointed by Trump earlier this year, declined to comment on the verdict through a spokesperson. The White House deferred to the Justice Department, which didn't immediately comment.

Trump's campaign isn't accused of wrongdoing. Prosecutors say the campaign was misled by Lou, who they say hid the illegal donations.

They said Lou had sought to raise $25,000 in smaller donations in order to earn two VIP tickets to a March 2019 breakfast at the president's Mar-a-Lago resort. The special tickets would earn him and a guest a photo-op with the Republican incumbent.

Lou recruited individuals to make donations to Trump's campaign in their own names, with the promise that he would reimburse them. Prosecutors say the night before the event, he made good on that vow, personally passing out thousands of dollars in cash to the individuals.

“Status. Perks. Access. That’s why the defendant planned and carried out the illegal fundraising scheme,” Assistant United States Attorney Meredith Arfa said in her closing argument last week, according to a court transcript.

Lou’s lawyers, who didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment Wednesday, maintained he didn't know it was illegal to reimburse donors for campaign contributions at the time.

Marissa Sherman, one of his lawyers, said in her closing argument that Lou make no secret of his plans, announcing in a public WeChat post with hundreds of people that anyone who wanted to go to the fundraiser would have their contribution covered.

“What Mr. Lou’s words and actions at the time of the fundraiser show is that he thought this was a great opportunity for the Chinese American community to show their support for President Trump, that this was a great opportunity for Mr. Lou to try and prove his worth and value to the Trump campaign," she said, according to a court transcript. "And above all else, to get a photograph with the political leader he so admired.”