Richard Pinedo, a California resident charged with helping Russia interfere in the 2016 election, was given a six-month prison term on Wednesday, making him the third person to be sentenced in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
Pinedo, 28, pleaded guilty in February to using fake identities to create U.S. bank accounts that he then sold to Russian government operatives who investigators say used Facebook and other social media platforms to swing the election in President Donald Trump's favor.
The Russians set up PayPal profiles with the stolen accounts that they used to pay their expenses, according to Mueller.
After completing his prison sentence, Pinedo will spend another six months in home confinement, according to his plea deal.
Mueller's prosecutors say Pinedo provided evidence that saved them time in prosecuting 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies indicted in February on charges that they carried out the Kremlin's Trump-boosting interference campaign. Despite Pinedo's cooperation with prosecutors, however, Mueller's team did not ask for a reduced sentence.
Pinedo's lawyer, Jeremy Lessem, argued unsuccessfully in court papers that his client's sentence should have been reduced because he put his life on the line by providing investigators with evidence against Russians "potentially working for the Kremlin."
Lessem also maintained his client had no clue who he was dealing with.
"Never in his wildest dreams could he have foreseen that providing bank account information to set up PayPal accounts could be used to interfere with a presidential election," Lessem said.
Prosecutors demurred and noted that Pinedo committed fraud on a sweeping scale and netted upwards of $95,000 from his illegal actions.
Pinedo's sentence is the harshest one yet handed out as a result of Mueller's inquiry. Former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos was sentenced to two weeks in prison for lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians, and London-based lawyer Alex van der Zwaan was sentenced to 30 days of hard time, also for lying to investigators.
However, former senior Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates have yet to be sentenced and will likely face harsher punishments than Pinedo. Michael Flynn, the president's former national security adviser, is also awaiting sentencing.
