#financial consulting firms in San Francisco and Sacramento

[sugarmancompany-blog]

Need For Forensic Accounting in San Jose and Santa Rosa, CA

An organization or firm with the expertise for problem-solving in the financial world is always in demand. Indeed, individuals and business entities turn to them to ensure compliance with standard regulations, enhance wealth, and make proper investments. Mitigation of risks is their forte as well. It is essential to contact financial consulting firms in San Francisco and Sacramento, CA, as and when required. ​ The advantages of consulting with the financial experts are manifold. It is their skills and thoughtful insights that display the path forward. While some of the consulting firms operate within a niche, others tackle complexities related to banking, investments, insurance, and other financial sectors. Whatever may be the area of consultation, almost all firms provide the following via their advice:-

Expertise: A layperson or a business owner highly acclaimed for business operations may lack an understanding of finances. Connecting with a reputed consultancy firm can provide the right solution. The experts running the firm are sure to be experts in their fields. They will understand the industry regulations, market trends, and best practices well. Conferring with them will enable the business owner or individual to obtain advice about making strategic decisions, implementing advanced technologies, and/or optimizing business processes.

Efficiency- Ensuring efficiency at all levels is crucial for the financial companies. Most of them seek advice from financial experts who provide timely consultation. Knowing that a slight improvement can result in huge savings, adding to the entity's profitability is essential. The consultancy firms are specialists in identifying the problem areas and pinpointing the inefficiencies. They provide timely advice on implementing modified strategies, thus ensuring solutions are provided. Optimization of diverse processes and reduction of operational costs can go a long way in improving the efficiency of the said business.

· Risk Management- All financial institutions must develop a foolproof risk management plan to protect their customers' assets. The consulting firm can help devise strategies that include development and management related to risk assessment, reduction of risks, and crisis response. Sagacious advice provided by consulting firms helps their clients meet their objectives without jeopardizing business profits or continuity

· Tax Assistance- The company is not always required to employ a separate tax expert. Instead, it is safe to rely on financial consultants adept at providing tax optimization services, too. The financial experts will not only do the tax planning but also disclose how to structure the taxes to minimize financial liabilities. The prospect of being asked to come for an IRS Audit becomes almost nonexistent.

· Stability- Having a financial consultant to fall back on as and when needed is a wonderful way to establish and maintain financial stability. They will guide their clients slowly but surely towards meeting the goals, thus establishing stability for good.

A business entity may appoint professionals for forensic accounting in San Jose and Santa Rosa, CA, to identify and recognize financial frauds being committed in the company. The specialized accountants also provide testimony for their clients at the court. 

[maturemenoftvandfilms]

Paul Pelosi Born: April 15, 1940, San Francisco, CA Physique: Average Build Height: 6' 2" (1.88 m)

Paul Francis Pelosi Sr. is an American businessman who owns and operates Financial Leasing Services, Inc., a San Francisco-based real estate and venture capital investment and consulting firm. He was the owner of the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League. He is married to Nancy Pelosi, the current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

I first took notice of Pelosi after his arrest for DUI in 2022 and recently after being attacked by some crazed nudist. And with these two events and Nancy seemingly being a workaholic wine mom makes me think Paul is a desperate house husband ready too explode sexually. If it hasn't happen all ready. As Paul falls into my "loves to fuck" theory as he's nutted into Nancy 5 times to produce 5 children.

[datascraping001]

Mortgage Consultants Email List

At the Heart of Effective Mortgage Strategies: The Mortgage Consultants Email List. In the ever-evolving landscape of real estate and finance, staying ahead is not just an advantage; it's a necessity. The key to success often lies in having access to the right information, at the right time. For professionals in the mortgage industry, this means having a network of reliable contacts and the latest market insights. This is where a Mortgage Consultants Email List proves invaluable.

Imagine having a curated list of mortgage consultants, experts, and decision-makers, all within your reach. It's like unlocking a treasure trove of industry expertise. The Mortgage Consultants Email List by Datascrapingservices.com is designed to be a catalyst for your marketing strategies. Whether you're a lending institution, a financial consultancy firm, or a technology provider catering to the mortgage sector, this email list is your gateway to success. The value of this list is multi-faceted. Firstly, it helps you precisely target your marketing efforts. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, you can tailor your campaigns to reach those individuals who matter most to your business. Targeting the right audience significantly increases the likelihood of engagement and conversion.

Secondly, it facilitates networking and partnerships within the industry. Collaborations often lead to innovative solutions and improved services, ultimately benefiting your clients and your business. The Mortgage Consultants Email List acts as a catalyst for such collaborations, putting you in touch with professionals who complement and enhance your services. In this dynamic industry, being the first to know about market trends, policy changes, or emerging technologies is crucial. The Mortgage Consultants Email List offers you a platform to connect with thought leaders and experts. Engage in discussions, gain insights, and stay updated with the latest happenings in the mortgage domain.

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At DataScrapingServices.com, we understand the significance of a reliable and updated email list. Our Mortgage Consultants Email List is not just a collection of contacts; it's a tool to propel your business forward. Reach out to us today at info@datascrapingservices.com and let's accelerate your marketing strategies in the mortgage sector. Let's make your campaigns resonate with the right audience, driving success and growth in the fiercely competitive mortgage industry.

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[da-at-ass]

Ever wonder why Nancy Pelosi seems to not be very much in touch with the people the Democratic Party are trying to court as voters?

Well, her husband's worth about $120 million dollars.

Paul Pelosi net worth: Paul Pelosi is an American businessman who has a net worth of $120 million. In her most recent wealth disclosure, Nancy and her husband Paul Pelosi estimated their personal net worth to fall somewhere in the range of $43 million and $202 million depending on the value of real estate assets, stock investments and other private assets.

Paul has been married to Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi since 1963. The couple has five children. Nancy is a Democrat who has been the Chair of the California Democratic Party, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, the House Minority Whip, the House Minority Leader, and the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

Paul Pelosi was born in San Francisco, California in April 1940. He owns and operates the real estate and venture capital investment and consulting firm Financial Leasing Services, Inc. Pelosi graduated from Georgetown University, New York University, and Harvard University. He formerly owned the United Football League team Sacramento Mountain Lions, which is now defunct.

Paul Pelosi originally invested in the UFL's Oakland Invaders before buying the California Redwoods for $12 million before the team became the Mountain Lions. Pelosi also sits on many corporate and philanthropic boards and owns large stakes in companies like Facebook, Apple, Comcast and Disney.

Paul and Nancy's real estate assets include multiple homes in California, primarily in San Francisco and Napa. Their real estate portfolio is worth north of $25 million.

I don't think Nancy has had a fucking clue what it's like EXPERIENCING being a normal person in this country for quite awhile, and it certainly explains a lot of her decisions leading the House. To be honest, I think she's just fucking around. The money pays off anyone who has a problem with her being there.

[knowcriminallaw]

Federal Criminal Law Variations vs. State Criminal

Prosecution occurs at both the federal and the state levels and so a federal violation is one that is prosecuted under federal criminal law rather than under state criminal law under which the majority of the crimes committed in America are prosecuted. Federal offenses normally involve federal government agencies such as the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the DHS, the Internal Revenue Service, the Border Patrol, Secret Service, or even possibly the Postal Service. There is a network of twelve circuits in the Federal court system, distributed throughout the United States. Each circuit has a central location along with a number of smaller district courts located in cities nearby. U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit (Washington, DC) U.S. District Court, D.C.- Washington, DC U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit (Boston, MA) Example: U.S. District Court, District of Puerto Rico- Hato Rey, PR U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit (New York, NY) Example: U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York- Brooklyn, NY U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit (Philadelphia, PA) Example: U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey- Newark, NJ U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit (Richmond, Virginia) Example: U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina- Charlotte, NC U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit (New Orleans, Louisiana) Example: U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas- Houston, TX U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit (Cincinnati, OH) Example: U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee- Memphis, TN U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit (Chicago, IL) Example: U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana- South Bend, IN U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit (St. Louis, Missouri) Example: U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa- Des Moines, IA U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit (San Francisco, CA) Example: U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California- Sacramento, CA U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit (Denver, CO) Example: U.S. District Court, Northern District of Oklahoma- Tulsa, OK U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (Atlanta, Georgia) Example: U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia- Macon, GA Average Federal crimes can contain: Drug distribution Crimes affiliated immigration to the U.S. Crimes that include weapons charges Gang activities White-collar offense Electronic crime and fraud Factors to Engage a Federal Criminal Defense Attorney The federal criminal justice process is not meant for individuals to represent themselves. In case you are detained, you want a lawyer to stand up to your rights, fight back against overzealous police officers, and obtain the very best result possible. Speak to a qualified federal criminal law firm in your area to learn more about what you’re up against. Many federal law firms, like Carver, Cantin & Mynarich in Missouri provide a free initial consultation, where they will walk you through the details of your federal charges, explaining possible outcomes and outline a strategy they might pursue.   This is 1 reason for a lawyer. You do not need to wander aimlessly at any stage during the legal system without a manual. Getting lost in a jumble of legislation and questionable convictions aren't just scary but can put the remainder of your life in peril. The viability of your life ought never to be a bargaining utility when you are facing time in court. The state court and federal court have been two entirely different strategies -- with different courthouses and judges. Federal judges will preside over national criminal situations, while elected state court judges preside over state criminal circumstances. Assistant U.S. Attorneys litigate federal situations, whilst country district attorneys and city attorneys insure state crimes. Criminal defense attorneys are the best investment to make regarding case identification. Not merely do they know the intricacies of the legal system, however they can look at your situation with unbiased and fresh eyes. They also spend their lives working to defend you and your nearest and dearest from regulations that are unnecessary. It's their passion to keep others from an outcome too harsh for the crime. An experienced lawyer isn't only able to assist you with your situation, but in addition, utilizes their trained intellect to find issues with the prosecution. Just because someone was arrested on suspicion for a crime does not imply that the presumed victims aren't to blame in some manner as well. Every case differs, and tiny details can serve to sufficiently swerve a court ruling. Nobody would like to be given much more of a punishment that is representative of the crime. Often, the area is greeted with a personal sense of shame and guilt, instead of having an enthusiastic and greedy attitude. So then, the question would be : why do so many people put off finding a criminal defense attorney? Without a lawyer that understands a situation, how then can anybody keep from unnecessary charges? Having a large number of individuals arrested yearly for a whole slew of criminal offenses, it becomes simple to bulge into a single group: guilty. This isn't accurate a sizable quantity of the moment. The media and common culture like to consider from the stunning, and so it will become hard to slough off the word when in the courtroom. A defense attorney understands the difficulty society induces and thinks on your innocence. Individuals commonly misinterpret the thought that they should hire an attorney only after they have been arrested or charged with a violation. This, however, is entirely a farce. Without an attorney present during police interrogations, then there's absolutely not any counselor there to help you from admitting to a crime you did not commit or from saying anything which could serve as a detriment for your own defense. Regardless of what crime you've been charged with, it is essential to procure legal representation that is knowledgeable and experienced in navigating the criminal justice strategy. This is of special importance if you've been charged with a federal crime because the terms for national fees are so stringent. Some Cases Tried by a Federal Criminal Defense Law Firms might be: Sexual Assault Attempted Killing and Conspiracy to Enact Murder Bank Fraud Liquidation Fraud Bribery Conspiracy Embezzlement Extortion Extortionate Extensions and Collections of Credit Federal Bank Robbery Firearms Charges Use or Carrying Firearms Relation to a Crime of Violence or Drug Selling Offense Confiscation Proceedings Forgery Harboring a Fugitive Health Care Theft Hobbs Act Extortion, Stealing and Public Corruption Kidnapping Loansharking Postal Fraud and Digital Making Untrue Statements Misprision of a Felony Mortgage Fraud Money Laundering Narcotics Charges Obstruction of Justice Perjury Public Corruption RICO Financial Fraud Sexual Abuse of Children Stalking Tax Cheating Theft of Government Assets Unlawful Hiring of Aliens What are the Penalties for federal charges? Another significant gap between federal crimes vs. country crimes is the essential sentence. Federal justices have been instructed by the federal sentencing guidelines when giving a sentence. Mandatory minimum prison penalties that national sentences tend to be much more lengthy than nation paragraphs. Even when their offenses are alike, a person being stranded for a federal crime will typically face a much more unpleasant punishment than somebody who has been convicted of a state crime. There is a large system of federal prisons throughout the   You may reside at any of them depending on a number of factors. If you have psychological or physical medical issues, you will most likely go to a Federal Medical Center like the one in Springfield, MO. MCFP is a common name for the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners. The centers where phrases are completed differ, as well. Individuals sentenced to do time to get a federal crime is going to be delivered to federal prison, although people who serve time for a state crime is going to probably be sent to state prison. Federal prisons tend to home more non-violent offenders (such as individuals convicted of same-sex offenses ), whilst local prisons home mostly populations of people convicted of violent crimes.

[compasslawgroup]

Personal Injury Lawyer In California

Personal Injury Lawyer

Were You Injured in an Accident? Call Our Personal Injury Lawyer in California for Help

Unintentional injuries caused by accidents are one of the leading causes of death and injury in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle accidents and falls are one of the top contributors to unintentional deaths. When a motor vehicle accident or a fall does not cause death, they often cause serious or catastrophic personal injuries. For instance, motor vehicle accidents and falls are the first and second common causes of traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries in the United States – both types of injuries usually result in permanent injury and disability. Other types of injuries such as dog bites, medical malpractice, and other accidental harm can also result in catastrophic harm. If you or a loved one were injured in an accident, or if a loved one was wrongfully killed, call our personal injury lawyer in California for help.

Here at the Compass Law Group, LLP, our team of personal injury lawyers and professional staff can help you and your family recover the compensation that you need and deserve after a serious or fatal accident anywhere in California, especially in Beverley Hills, Bell Gardens, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, and anywhere else throughout California. We offer FREE consultations and case evaluations, with no obligation to sign up with our law firm to learn what your rights to compensation may be under the law. We also don’t get paid until you get paid in a settlement, verdict, award, or another type of recovery. To learn more about how our experienced personal injury lawyers in California can help you, call 800.602.4010 for more information.

Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle

There are many different types of personal injury cases that we can help handle for you. These cases often involve serious or catastrophic injuries, including injuries that may last for a lifetime and result in permanent, disabling, and financially burdensome damages for a victim and his or her entire family.

Some of the most common types of personal injury cases in California that we handle include the following:

Car accidents and auto accidents

Slip and falls

Trucking accidents including 18-wheelers, tankers, box trucks, tractor-trailers, and other big rigs

Dog bites and animal attacks

Trip and falls

Motorcycle accidents

Construction site accidents

Pedestrian knockdowns and hit by a car

Medical malpractice and birth injuries

Bicycle accidents

Nursing home malpractice and nursing home abuse and neglect

Workplace accidents

Wrongful death, and

Many other very serious and catastrophic injuries are caused by preventable accidents.

Injured in an Accident? Call Our Personal Injury Lawyer in California for Help

After an accident, victims often have significant physical, emotional, and financial damages due to the negligence of another person, business, or government entity. If this happens to you or a loved one, call the Compass Law Group, LLP to schedule a FREE consultation to learn more about your rights to compensation. You and your family need an experienced personal injury lawyer in California to help you, especially if you have suffered a catastrophic and permanent injury.

Our bodily injury law firm can help you no matter where your accident was caused or where you live in California, especially near one of our offices in Beverley Hills, Bell Gardens, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Sacramento, or San Francisco. To learn more about how we can help you, call 800.602.4010 or use our “Contact Us” click here

Learn more about Personal Injury Lawyer In California. For more information visit: https://cmplawgroup.com/

[honeyflowercollective]

Many California marijuana growers are up in arms over a recent proposal before the state Energy Commission that would require all indoor cultivation operators to use only LED lights by 2023. If implemented, the proposal could cost cannabis businesses hundreds of millions of dollars, the growers say. The proposal is part of a lengthy report issued this month by the Codes and Standards Enhancement (CASE) Program. It would force indoor growers to transition away from lower-efficiency grow lights, such as metal halide or high-pressure sodium (HPS), which are favored by some indoor growers over costlier LEDs. “It’s very important to consider the upfront costs and … how growers will pay for that,” Amber Morris, director of government affairs for NorCal Cannabis, said during a recent webinar organized by the United Cannabis Business Association. NorCal Cannabis has roughly 70,000 feet of indoor marijuana canopy that it’s spent “millions” on building out, Morris said. At this point, she said, it’s impossible for NorCal to transition to greenhouses in order to save the money it would cost the company to comply with the proposed requirement. It would cost NorCal at least $5.6 million to install LED lights for the entire canopy, estimated Bob Gunn, the CEO of Seattle-based energy consulting firm Seinergy. He also estimated it would cost roughly $255 million for all of California’s indoor growers to change over. That figure is based on a 2019 statistic in the CASE report that found California has roughly 3.4 million square feet of indoor canopy licensed for cannabis cultivation. Gunn said LED lights typically cost about $60-$90 more per square foot of canopy than traditional HPS lighting systems. HPS systems use more energy but are cheaper upfront. Gunn also warned that the financial cost of the CASE proposal would likely kill a lot of LED incentive programs. Sacramento-based Nimbus Cannabis used such incentive programs to build out its LED grow operation when it relocated to the state capital from the San Francisco Bay Area. @mjbizdaily Continued below in comments ..... (at LED) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDRyerVHCbS/?igshid=1ip667ux1l7re

[sugarmancompany-blog]

Trust Sugarman Company LLP, your go-to small business accountant in Sacramento and San Francisco, CA. Our expert team also excels as forensic CPAs, providing detailed financial analysis and peace of mind. Let us handle your accounting needs with precision and care.

[datascraping001]

CPA Email List

Elevate Your Accounting Game with a Targeted CPA Email List. In the world of finance and accounting, success hinges on a multitude of factors, and one of the most crucial is having access to the right contacts. Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) are the backbone of financial services, offering expertise and guidance that can make or break a business. In such a competitive industry, reaching out to the right CPAs can be a game-changer, and this is where a meticulously curated CPA Email List by datascrapingservices.com can become your greatest asset.

The Power of Data in Accounting

As businesses and financial landscapes evolve rapidly, staying ahead of the curve is essential. The financial world is a dynamic, ever-changing environment where well-informed decisions are paramount. Imagine having the ability to connect with CPAs who possess the knowledge and skills to provide your business with invaluable insights, whether it's tax planning, auditing, or financial consulting.

A targeted CPA Email List empowers your firm to reach out to these professionals directly, streamlining your marketing efforts and enabling you to build relationships that can lead to long-term partnerships. Here's why this CPA Email List is a must-have:

1. Precision Targeting: Our CPA Email List is carefully curated, ensuring that you reach the CPAs whose expertise aligns with your services. This precise targeting conserves valuable time and resources.

2. Real-Time Data: The financial industry is fast-paced. With our updated CPA Email List, you can be sure you're connecting with active professionals, not outdated contacts.

3. Enhanced Engagement: Email marketing remains a powerful tool. When you have the right email list, your messages have a better chance of being read and acted upon.

4. Industry Insights: CPAs are more than email addresses; they are a source of industry knowledge. Connecting with them can provide valuable insights and networking opportunities.

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At datascrapingservices.com, we understand that quality data is the foundation of a successful marketing campaign. Our team of experts specializes in web scraping and data collection, and we employ the latest technologies and techniques to ensure the accuracy and reliability of our data. By choosing our CPA Email List, you're not just gaining access to a list of contacts; you're gaining a competitive advantage. Whether you're marketing financial services, accounting software, or financial planning resources, our list can help you identify and connect with the right professionals.

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[bountyofbeads]

As Russian Money Poured Into Cannabis, Giuliani Allies Scrambled to Partake https://nyti.ms/2pJZUmG

As Russian Money Poured Into Cannabis, Giuliani Allies Scrambled to Partake

Russian investors have flocked to the U.S. cannabis industry in recent years. One venture involving associates of Rudy Giuliani drew the scrutiny of federal investigators.

By Mike Baker and William K. Rashbaum | Published October 23, 2019, 5:01 AM ET | New York Times | Posted October 23, 2019 |

SAN FRANCISCO — At a restaurant meeting in California a few years ago, Brad Hirsch and one of his law clients gathered over a meal with two potential business partners: Andrey Kukushkin and Andrey Muraviev, an investor who had flown in from Russia.

Mr. Kukushkin and the Russian financier were hoping Mr. Hirsch could help them build a stake in the state’s burgeoning cannabis market, Mr. Hirsch said, and he helped them set up a real estate business that would cater to marijuana operators. Over the span of just a few years, Mr. Kukushkin would join or develop cannabis companies around San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, establishing a foothold in everything from real estate and cultivation to retail and delivery.

There was a reason that people like Mr. Kukushkin, who was born in Ukraine and later worked at a Russian investment bank, had a unique opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Federal law still treats cannabis as an illegal substance, and traditional banks have been wary of getting involved. Wealthy financiers have moved in to fill the void — including a growing cast of investors from Russia and former Soviet Union countries who have helped shape the industry's growth.

One of the nation’s largest cannabis companies, Curaleaf, is led by one of Russia’s most influential financiers and backed by another, allowing the company to pursue rapid expansion and hefty acquisitions. Investment firms have taken their own stakes: A San Francisco-based venture capital fund run by the Russian tech entrepreneur Pavel Cherkashin, backed largely by investors from Russia and the former Soviet Union, has put $2 million into Pure Spectrum, a Colorado-based business marketing CBD products.

“I think there is a strong fear of missing out back in Russia,” Mr. Cherkashin said. “It’s one of the most promising and rapidly developing markets.”

Mr. Kukushkin and some of his business partners appear to have gone a step further, funneling political contributions to candidates in Nevada and elsewhere in a way that has drawn the scrutiny of federal prosecutors. Earlier this month, a federal grand jury indicted four men, including Mr. Kukushkin, in a scheme to use money from an unnamed Russian to support politicians who could potentially help them obtain retail marijuana licenses around the country.

The indictment attracted widespread attention because two of the men charged are associates of President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, and worked with Mr. Giuliani in the past to collect potentially damaging information about targets of interest to Mr. Trump in Ukraine.

They were accused in a separate scheme to conceal the source of a $325,000 donation to a pro-Trump super PAC, as well as other political contributions.

But when it came to Russian money flowing into the United States, prosecutors focused on its role in the Nevada marijuana business formed by Mr. Kukushkin and the others. The case illustrates how Mr. Giuliani’s allies were operating not just to advance the president’s political interests, but to build a political network of their own that would give them entree into one of the country’s more promising new industries.

Big Investors

The reluctance of traditional banks to touch marijuana financing has attracted private investors not from just Russia, but from China, Japan, South America and from around the United States. Mr. Kukushkin, according to the indictment, said he was trying to disguise the source of the Nevada venture’s money because of the financier’s “Russian roots and current political paranoia about it.”

Mr. Kukushkin’s lawyer, Gerald B. Lefcourt, declined to comment on the case.

Other investors with Russian backgrounds have been public about their involvement in the cannabis industry, and law enforcement officials do not appear to have raised questions.

Curaleaf, based in Massachusetts, is led by Boris Jordan, a businessman born in the United States who went on to build the investment bank Renaissance Capital in Russia, where he now leads the Sputnik Group, which has a major private equity division. The company’s other major individual investor was Andrei Blokh, a Moscow businessman.

In May, Curaleaf announced a $950 million deal to acquire the Oregon-based Cura Partners in one of the industry’s largest deals ever. In July, it followed up with an $875 million deal to acquire the Illinois-based Grassroots Cannabis.

Vedomosti, a Russian business publication, reported earlier this year that it had talked with eight investment funds of Russian origin that were either considering cannabis investments or had already pursued them.

Some states, including Oregon and Maine, tried to reap the benefits of a cannabis industry by requiring that companies be locally controlled. But that has been a struggle as the industry has pushed for open markets in order to get access to funding, said Andrew Freedman, who helped the lead the development of Colorado’s legal cannabis market.

“A lot of these states are trying to keep the money and the ownership interest within the four corners of the state,” Mr. Freedman said. “It simply isn’t happening.”

Federal prosecutors said the Russian money backing the business of Mr. Kukushkin and others was helping lay the groundwork of a multistate operation. The Russian partner, according to two people familiar with the case, was Andrey Muraviev — the man Mr. Kukushkin had brought to the meeting that day with Mr. Hirsch.

From Russia to California

Born in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa when it was still part of the Soviet Union, Mr. Kukushkin earned degrees at Odessa National Polytechnic University in engineering and finance in 1992, then worked in the Russian finance industry.

Even before entering the cannabis world, Mr. Kukushkin, 46, was living a comfortable life, with photos on Russian social media showing him vacationing at the elite French resort of Chamonix. Mr. Kukushkin listed himself as living in Ukraine, Russia and San Francisco.

In 2013, Mr. Kukushkin took up residence in a 1,400 square-foot condo a few blocks from San Francisco’s financial district.

Mr. Muraviev, meanwhile, was born in Russia and partially educated in San Francisco. He led a cement company in Russia before starting the investment company Parus Capital.

Together, their first foray into the cannabis industry appears to have been in 2015.

Records show that Mr. Kukushkin helped Mr. Muraviev steer a $1 million investment into a California cannabis management company, Venture Rebel, which helped run a San Francisco cannabis shop known as MediThrive.

Mr. Kukushkin and Mr. Muraviev expanded next into the Sacramento area, joining up with Mr. Hirsch, the lawyer who met with them in San Francisco, and his client, Garib Karapetyan. Mr. Hirsch said he lost his enthusiasm for the partnership when Mr. Kukushkin began to do things like demanding new terms in the 11th hour of negotiations.

In regulatory applications, another Kukushkin company, Oasis Venture, proposed a large cannabis cultivation site east of San Francisco, including a greenhouse that would have 22,000 square feet of cannabis canopy and a processing facility on an estate with garage space for 12 vehicles and panoramic views of the nearby Alameda County valleys and foothills.

In the last few months, Mr. Kukushkin has been pursuing a dispensary license in the Los Angeles area.

Sean Maddocks, a legal consultant who has helped in that effort, said Mr. Kukushkin approached him last year looking for guidance on where he could get additional licenses.

He said Mr. Kukushkin never discussed anything like campaign contributions or any improper effort to get a license.

Political Contributions

Federal prosecutors have seized on the issue of campaign contributions in the Nevada case, and that is where Mr. Giuliani’s associates from Florida entered the marijuana case: Lev Parnas, a native of Ukraine, and Igor Fruman, originally from Belarus — both now American citizens who have long lived in Florida — along with David Correia, another South Florida resident.

In the summer of 2018, according to federal prosecutors, those three men teamed up with Mr. Kukushkin to develop a multistate cannabis business strategy.

Two people familiar with the details of the federal case said the financier was to be Mr. Muraviev, who did not respond to emails or phone messages. Both Mr. Fruman’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, and Mr. Correia’s lawyer, Jeffrey Marcus, declined to comment. The lawyer for Mr. Parnas, Edward B. MacMahon Jr., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Correia drafted a document that considered between $1 million and $2 million of potential political donations to help win marijuana retail licenses in Nevada and elsewhere, according to the indictment. Though donations from foreign nationals to American political campaigns are illegal, the indictment says that the Russian arranged two wire transfers totaling $1 million to Mr. Fruman that were intended at least in part for political candidates.

Near the end of October 2018, the group apparently realized that the deadline for getting a license in Nevada had already passed — “unless we change the rules,” Mr. Kukushkin said, according to the indictment. They talked about needing the support of a Nevada state candidate.

The indictment does not name the candidate being discussed, but a week later, records show, Mr. Fruman donated the maximum amount, $10,000, to both Adam Laxalt and Wesley Duncan. Both Republicans, Mr. Laxalt was the state’s attorney general running for governor, while Mr. Duncan was running to succeed Mr. Laxalt.

Mr. Duncan and Mr. Laxalt both said through spokespeople that they were unaware of any illegal activity and were returning the donations.

If the contributions and support were intended to produce a result, they failed. Mr. Duncan and Mr. Laxalt both lost their elections.

Mike Baker reported from San Francisco and William K. Rashbaum reported from New York.

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Contradicting Trump, Ukraine Knew of Aid Freeze Before It Became Public

Top officials were told in early August about the delay of $391 million in security assistance, undercutting a chief argument President Trump has used to deny any quid pro quo.

By Andrew E. Kramer and Kenneth P. Vogel | Published October 23, 2019, 11:10 AM ET | New York Times | Posted October 23, 2019

KIEV, Ukraine — To Democrats who say that President Trump’s decision to freeze a $391 million military aid package to Ukraine was intended to bully Ukraine’s leader into carrying out investigations for Mr. Trump’s political benefit, the president and his allies have had a simple response: There could not have been any quid pro quo because the Ukrainians did not know the assistance had been blocked.

Following testimony by William B. Taylor Jr., the top United States diplomat in Ukraine, to House impeachment investigators on Tuesday that the freezing of the aid was directly linked to Mr. Trump’s demand for the investigations, the president took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to approvingly quote a Republican member of Congress saying neither Mr. Taylor nor any other witness had “provided testimony that the Ukrainians were aware that military aid was being withheld.”

But in fact, word of the aid freeze had gotten to high-level Ukrainian officials by the first week in August, according to interviews and documents obtained by The New York Times.

The problem was not a bureaucratic glitch, the Ukrainians were told then. To address it, they were advised, they should reach out to Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, according to the interviews and records.

The timing of the communications about the issue, which have not previously been reported, shows that Ukraine was aware the White House was holding up the funds weeks earlier than United States and Ukrainian officials had acknowledged. And it means that the Ukrainian government was aware of the freeze during most of the period in August when Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, and two American diplomats were pressing President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to make a public commitment to the investigations being sought by Mr. Trump.

The communications did not explicitly link the assistance freeze to the push by Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani for the investigations. But in the communications, officials from the United States and Ukraine discuss the need to bring in the same senior aide to Mr. Zelensky who had been dealing with Mr. Giuliani about Mr. Trump’s demands for the investigations, signaling a possible link between the matters.

Word of the aid freeze got to the Ukrainians at a moment when Mr. Zelensky, who had taken office a little more than two months earlier after a campaign in which he promised to root out corruption and stand up to Russia, was off balance and uncertain how to stabilize his country’s relationship with the United States.

Days earlier, he had listened to Mr. Trump implore him on a half-hour call to pursue investigations touching on former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and a debunked conspiracy theory about Ukrainian involvement in the 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee. Mr. Zelensky’s efforts to secure a visit to the White House — a symbolic affirmation of support he considered vital at a time when Russia continued to menace Ukraine’s eastern border — seemed to be stalled. American policy toward Ukraine was being guided not by career professionals but by Mr. Giuliani.

Mr. Taylor told the impeachment investigators that it was only on the sidelines of a Sept. 1 meeting in Warsaw between Mr. Zelensky and Vice President Mike Pence that the Ukrainians were directly told the aid would be dependent on Mr. Zelensky giving Mr. Trump something he wanted: an investigation into Burisma, the company that had employed Hunter Biden, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s son.

American and Ukrainian officials have asserted that Ukraine learned that the aid had been held up only around the time it became public through a news story at the end of August.

The aid freeze is getting additional scrutiny from the impeachment investigators on Wednesday as they question Laura K. Cooper, a deputy assistant defense secretary for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia. This month, Democrats subpoenaed both the Defense Department and the White House Office of Management and Budget for records related to the assistance freeze.

As Mr. Taylor’s testimony suggests, the Ukrainians did not confront the Trump administration about the freeze until they were told in September that it was linked to the demand for the investigations. The Ukrainians appear to have initially been hopeful that the problem could be resolved quietly and were reluctant to risk a public clash at a delicate time in relations between the two nations.

The disclosure that the Ukrainians knew of the freeze by early August corroborates, and provides additional details about, a claim made by a C.I.A. officer in his whistle-blower complaint that sparked the impeachment inquiry by House Democrats.

“As of early August, I heard from U.S. officials that some Ukrainian officials were aware that U.S. aid might be in jeopardy, but I do not know how or when they learned of it,” the anonymous whistle-blower wrote. The complainant said that he learned that the instruction to freeze the assistance “had come directly from the president,” and said it “might have a connection with the overall effort to pressure Ukrainian leadership.”

Publicly, Mr. Zelensky has insisted he felt no pressure to pursue the investigations sought by Mr. Trump.

“There was no blackmail,” Mr. Zelensky said at a news conference earlier this month. He cited as evidence that he “had no idea the military aid was held up” at the time of his July 25 call with Mr. Trump, when Mr. Trump pressed him for investigations into the Bidens and a debunked conspiracy theory about Ukrainian involvement in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee in 2016.

Mr. Zelensky has said he knew about the hold up of the military aid before his meeting in Poland on Sept. 1 with Mr. Pence, but has been vague about exactly when he learned about it. “When I did find out, I raised it with Pence at a meeting in Warsaw,” he said this month.

In conversations over several days in early August, a Pentagon official discussed the assistance freeze directly with a Ukrainian government official, according to records and interviews. The Pentagon official suggested that Mr. Mulvaney had been pushing for the assistance to be withheld, and urged the Ukrainians to reach out to him.

The Pentagon official described Mr. Mulvaney’s motivations only in broad terms but made clear that the same Ukrainian official, Andriy Yermak, who had been negotiating with Mr. Giuliani over the investigations and a White House visit being sought by Mr. Zelensky should also reach out to Mr. Mulvaney over the hold on military aid.

A senior administration official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue said on Monday that Mr. Mulvaney “had absolutely no communication with the Ukranians about this issue.”

Ukrainian officials had grown suspicious that the assistance was in jeopardy because formal talks with the Pentagon on its release had concluded by June without any apparent problem.

In talks during the spring with American officials, the Ukrainians had resolved conditions for the release of the assistance, and believed everything was on schedule, according to Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Ukraine’s former vice prime minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration.

But by early August, the Ukrainians were struggling to get clear answers from their American contacts about the status of the assistance, according to American officials familiar with the Ukrainians’ efforts.

In the days and weeks after top Ukrainian officials were alerted to the aid freeze, Gordon D. Sondland, the United States ambassador to the European Union, and Kurt D. Volker, then the State Department’s special envoy to Ukraine, were working with Mr. Giuliani to draft a statement for Mr. Zelensky to deliver that would commit him to pursuing the investigations,  according to text messages between the men turned over to the House impeachment investigators.

The text messages between Mr. Volker, Mr. Sondland and the top Zelensky aide did not mention the hold up of the aid. It was only in September, after the Warsaw meeting, that Mr. Taylor wrote in a text message to Mr. Sondland, “I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”

After being informed on Sept. 1 in Warsaw that the aid would be released only if Mr. Zelensky agreed to the investigations, Ukrainian officials, including their national security adviser and defense minister, were troubled by their inability to get answers to questions about the freeze from United States officials, Mr. Taylor testified.

Through the summer, Mr. Zelensky had been noncommittal about the demands from Mr. Volker, Mr. Sondland and Mr. Giuliani for a public commitment to the investigations. On Sept. 5, Mr. Taylor testified, Mr. Zelensky met in Kiev with Senators Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, and Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut.

Mr. Zelensky’s first question, Mr. Taylor said, was about the security aid. The senators responded, Mr. Taylor said, that Mr. Zelensky “should not jeopardize bipartisan support by getting drawn into U.S. domestic politics.”

But Mr. Sondland was still pressing for a commitment from Mr. Zelensky, and was pressing him to do a CNN interview in which he would talk about pursuing the investigations sought by Mr. Trump.

Mr. Zelensky never did the interview and never made the public commitment sought by the White House, although a Ukrainian prosecutor later said he would “audit” a case involving the owner of the company that paid Hunter Biden as a board member.

Mr. Giuliani has said he had nothing to do with the assistance freeze and did not talk to Mr. Trump or “anybody in the government” about it. “I didn’t know about it until I read about it in the newspaper,” he said in an interview last week.

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Donald Trump’s Quid Pro Quo Is Now a Smoking Gun

Mr. Trump’s own acting envoy, William Taylor, described how the president tried to force Ukraine to advance his political interests.

By Jesse Wegman, Mr. Wegman is a member of the editorial board | Published October 22, 2019 | New York Times | Posted October 23, 2019 |

If Tuesday’s congressional testimony by William Taylor, the acting United States envoy to Ukraine, is to be taken at face value — and no one in the Trump administration has yet denied a word of it — then it is now beyond doubt: President Trump placed his personal political future above the national-security interests of the United States. He did so at the expense of longstanding foreign policy, a critical international alliance and the stability of the global order — and he used hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to do it.

The nation has known the basic outlines of this story for weeks, thanks to the bravery of a C.I.A. whistle-blower and others. But in 15 pages, Mr. Taylor laid out with a stunning degree of detail the extent of Mr. Trump’s effort to extort Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, and his son over supposed corruption.

You know it’s bad for the president when the only response the White House can muster is to sidestep the testimony and complain instead about “a coordinated smear campaign from far-left lawmakers and radical unelected bureaucrats waging war on the Constitution.”

Would that be the same Constitution that Mr. Trump referred to, in part, as “phony” just this week? Also, “radical unelected bureaucrat” is a curious way to describe Mr. Taylor, who currently serves as Mr. Trump’s acting envoy to Ukraine and is a retired career civil servant and Vietnam War veteran who has served under both Republican and Democratic presidents.

Mr. Taylor described to lawmakers how, after agreeing to take over as interim head of the United States Embassy in Ukraine last spring, he soon realized something was very wrong. There were “two channels of U.S. policymaking and implementation, one regular and one highly irregular.” The regular one was what it had long been: support, with bipartisan backing in Congress, for Ukraine against Russian aggression from the east. The irregular one was a concerted effort, led by Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani, to get Ukraine to investigate purported corruption by Mr. Biden and his son, as well as alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 United States election.

There is no evidence to support the first allegation, and the second has been thoroughly debunked by the American intelligence community. But Mr. Trump doesn’t care about details like that — he is hungry to damage Mr. Biden and he wanted Mr. Zelensky to state publicly that there would be a thorough investigation. He dangled two carrots: a White House visit and nearly $400 million in desperately needed military aid that the United States had promised to Ukraine for its war with Russia.

Mr. Taylor’s alarm bells went off when, shortly before one call with Mr. Zelensky, Gordon Sondland, the American ambassador to the European Union, said he didn’t want most of the normal interagency participants to be on the line, and didn’t want anyone monitoring or transcribing the call.

Later, Mr. Taylor said, Mr. Sondland told him that “everything” — the White House visit and the military aid — depended on Mr. Zelensky’s willingness to start a high-profile, public investigation. That sure sounds like a threat to withhold money unless Mr. Zelensky did the president’s bidding — what sticklers might call a quid pro quo. Mr. Trump has denied this, repeating “no quid pro quo” as though it were a magical incantation. After reading Mr. Taylor’s testimony, I don’t think that phrase means what the president thinks it means.

(Even some of Mr. Trump’s staunchest defenders are starting to recognize how serious this is. In an interview with “Axios on HBO” that aired Sunday, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said, “If you could show me that, you know, Trump actually was engaging in a quid pro quo, outside the phone call, that would be very disturbing.”)

What comes through most clearly in Mr. Taylor’s written testimony, which he supplemented with oral testimony to three House committees behind closed doors, is the sheer shock that an American president would be so reckless with both human lives and international relations, all for his own political gain.

Mr. Taylor laid out the real-world stakes of Mr. Trump’s decision to play politics with Ukraine’s military aid. He recalled a visit to the front lines in eastern Ukraine that he and Kurt Volker, the special envoy to Ukraine, made in late July, from where they could see armed Russian forces gathered on the other side of a bridge. “Over 13,000 Ukrainians had been killed in the war, one or two a week. More Ukrainians would undoubtedly die without the U.S. assistance,” he wrote.

There are two stories to tell about Ukraine, Mr. Taylor said. One story, the bad one, involves whistle-blowers, back channels and quid pro quos. The other is a positive one — about “a young nation, struggling to break free of its past” and eager to “enjoy a more secure and prosperous life.” Mr. Taylor might have added that there are also two American stories — one in which politicians use foreign policy to maneuver for domestic advantage, and one in which there is bipartisan support for fledgling democracies that share our values and there are diplomats who devote their lives to delivering on that support.

In that America, there should be no room in the Oval Office for someone like Donald Trump.

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[savvyherb]

As Russian Money Poured Into Cannabis, Giuliani Allies Scrambled to Partake

SAN FRANCISCO — At a restaurant meeting in California a few years ago, Brad Hirsch and one of his law clients gathered over a meal with two potential business partners: Andrey Kukushkin and Andrey Muraviev, an investor who had flown in from Russia.

Mr. Kukushkin and the Russian financier were hoping Mr. Hirsch could help them build a stake in the state’s burgeoning cannabis market, Mr. Hirsch said, and he helped them set up a real estate business that would cater to marijuana operators. Over the span of just a few years, Mr. Kukushkin would join or develop cannabis companies around San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, establishing a foothold in everything from real estate and cultivation to retail and delivery.

There was a reason that people like Mr. Kukushkin, who was born in Ukraine and later worked at a Russian investment bank, had a unique opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Federal law still treats cannabis as an illegal substance, and traditional banks have been wary of getting involved. Wealthy financiers have moved in to fill the void — including a growing cast of investors from Russia and former Soviet Union countries who have helped shape the industry's growth.

One of the nation’s largest cannabis companies, Curaleaf, is led by one of Russia’s most influential financiers and backed by another, allowing the company to pursue rapid expansion and hefty acquisitions. Investment firms have taken their own stakes: A San Francisco-based venture capital fund run by the Russian tech entrepreneur Pavel Cherkashin, backed largely by investors from Russia and the former Soviet Union, has put $2 million into Pure Spectrum, a Colorado-based business marketing CBD products.

“I think there is a strong fear of missing out back in Russia,” Mr. Cherkashin said. “It’s one of the most promising and rapidly developing markets.”

Mr. Kukushkin and some of his business partners appear to have gone a step further, funneling political contributions to candidates in Nevada and elsewhere in a way that has drawn the scrutiny of federal prosecutors. Earlier this month, a federal grand jury indicted four men, including Mr. Kukushkin, in a scheme to use money from an unnamed Russian to support politicians who could potentially help them obtain retail marijuana licenses around the country.

The indictment attracted widespread attention because two of the men charged are associates of President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, and worked with Mr. Giuliani in the past to collect potentially damaging information about targets of interest to Mr. Trump in Ukraine.

They were accused in a separate scheme to conceal the source of a $325,000 donation to a pro-Trump super PAC, as well as other political contributions.

But when it came to Russian money flowing into the United States, prosecutors focused on its role in the Nevada marijuana business formed by Mr. Kukushkin and the others. The case illustrates how Mr. Giuliani’s allies were operating not just to advance the president’s political interests, but to build a political network of their own that would give them entree into one of the country’s more promising new industries.

Big Investors

The reluctance of traditional banks to touch marijuana financing has attracted private investors not from just Russia, but from China, Japan, South America and from around the United States. Mr. Kukushkin, according to the indictment, said he was trying to disguise the source of the Nevada venture’s money because of the financier’s “Russian roots and current political paranoia about it.”

Mr. Kukushkin’s lawyer, Gerald B. Lefcourt, declined to comment on the case.

Other investors with Russian backgrounds have been public about their involvement in the cannabis industry, and law enforcement officials do not appear to have raised questions.

Curaleaf, based in Massachusetts, is led by Boris Jordan, a businessman born in the United States who went on to build the investment bank Renaissance Capital in Russia, where he now leads the Sputnik Group, which has a major private equity division. The company’s other major individual investor was Andrei Blokh, a Moscow businessman.

In May, Curaleaf announced a $950 million deal to acquire the Oregon-based Cura Partners in one of the industry’s largest deals ever. In July, it followed up with an $875 million deal to acquire the Illinois-based Grassroots Cannabis.

Vedomosti, a Russian business publication, reported earlier this year that it had talked with eight investment funds of Russian origin that were either considering cannabis investments or had already pursued them.

Some states, including Oregon and Maine, tried to reap the benefits of a cannabis industry by requiring that companies be locally controlled. But that has been a struggle as the industry has pushed for open markets in order to get access to funding, said Andrew Freedman, who helped the lead the development of Colorado’s legal cannabis market.

“A lot of these states are trying to keep the money and the ownership interest within the four corners of the state,” Mr. Freedman said. “It simply isn’t happening.”

Federal prosecutors said the Russian money backing the business of Mr. Kukushkin and others was helping lay the groundwork of a multistate operation. The Russian partner, according to two people familiar with the case, was Andrey Muraviev — the man Mr. Kukushkin had brought to the meeting that day with Mr. Hirsch.

From Russia to California

Born in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa when it was still part of the Soviet Union, Mr. Kukushkin earned degrees at Odessa National Polytechnic University in engineering and finance in 1992, then worked in the Russian finance industry.

Even before entering the cannabis world, Mr. Kukushkin, 46, was living a comfortable life, with photos on Russian social media showing him vacationing at the elite French resort of Chamonix. Mr. Kukushkin listed himself as living in Ukraine, Russia and San Francisco.

In 2013, Mr. Kukushkin took up residence in a 1,400 square-foot condo a few blocks from San Francisco’s financial district.

Mr. Muraviev, meanwhile, was born in Russia and partially educated in San Francisco. He led a cement company in Russia before starting the investment company Parus Capital.

Together, their first foray into the cannabis industry appears to have been in 2015.

Records show that Mr. Kukushkin helped Mr. Muraviev steer a $1 million investment into a California cannabis management company, Venture Rebel, which helped run a San Francisco cannabis shop known as MediThrive.

Mr. Kukushkin and Mr. Muraviev expanded next into the Sacramento area, joining up with Mr. Hirsch, the lawyer who met with them in San Francisco, and his client, Garib Karapetyan. Mr. Hirsch said he lost his enthusiasm for the partnership when Mr. Kukushkin began to do things like demanding new terms in the 11th hour of negotiations.

In regulatory applications, another Kukushkin company, Oasis Venture, proposed a large cannabis cultivation site east of San Francisco, including a greenhouse that would have 22,000 square feet of cannabis canopy and a processing facility on an estate with garage space for 12 vehicles and panoramic views of the nearby Alameda County valleys and foothills.

In the last few months, Mr. Kukushkin has been pursuing a dispensary license in the Los Angeles area.

Sean Maddocks, a legal consultant who has helped in that effort, said Mr. Kukushkin approached him last year looking for guidance on where he could get additional licenses.

He said Mr. Kukushkin never discussed anything like campaign contributions or any improper effort to get a license.

Political Contributions

Federal prosecutors have seized on the issue of campaign contributions in the Nevada case, and that is where Mr. Giuliani’s associates from Florida entered the marijuana case: Lev Parnas, a native of Ukraine, and Igor Fruman, originally from Belarus — both now American citizens who have long lived in Florida — along with David Correia, another South Florida resident.

In the summer of 2018, according to federal prosecutors, those three men teamed up with Mr. Kukushkin to develop a multistate cannabis business strategy.

Two people familiar with the details of the federal case said the financier was to be Mr. Muraviev, who did not respond to emails or phone messages. Both Mr. Fruman’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, and Mr. Correia’s lawyer, Jeffrey Marcus, declined to comment. The lawyer for Mr. Parnas, Edward B. MacMahon Jr., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Correia drafted a document that considered between $1 million and $2 million of potential political donations to help win marijuana retail licenses in Nevada and elsewhere, according to the indictment. Though donations from foreign nationals to American political campaigns are illegal, the indictment says that the Russian arranged two wire transfers totaling $1 million to Mr. Fruman that were intended at least in part for political candidates.

Near the end of October 2018, the group apparently realized that the deadline for getting a license in Nevada had already passed — “unless we change the rules,” Mr. Kukushkin said, according to the indictment. They talked about needing the support of a Nevada state candidate.

The indictment does not name the candidate being discussed, but a week later, records show, Mr. Fruman donated the maximum amount, $10,000, to both Adam Laxalt and Wesley Duncan. Both Republicans, Mr. Laxalt was the state’s attorney general running for governor, while Mr. Duncan was running to succeed Mr. Laxalt.

Mr. Duncan and Mr. Laxalt both said through spokespeople that they were unaware of any illegal activity and were returning the donations.

If the contributions and support were intended to produce a result, they failed. Mr. Duncan and Mr. Laxalt both lost their elections.

Mike Baker reported from San Francisco and William K. Rashbaum reported from New York.

The post As Russian Money Poured Into Cannabis, Giuliani Allies Scrambled to Partake appeared first on Savvy Herb Mobile Cannabis Platform.

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California lawmaker trying to weaken privacy law is married to Ring executive

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/california-lawmaker-trying-to-weaken-privacy-law-is-married-to-ring-executive/

California lawmaker trying to weaken privacy law is married to Ring executive

California Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin is second from left. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

SACRAMENTO — A California lawmaker behind an industry-backed bill to narrow the state’s landmark Privacy Act is married to a top executive at Ring, the Amazon-owned tech company in the thick of a national debate over consumer data and government surveillance, according to ethics disclosures reviewed by POLITICO.

Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin’s husband, Jon Irwin, is chief operating officer for Santa Monica-based Ring, Inc., a home security and video doorbell startup that Amazon acquired last year for about $1 billion, state ethics disclosures show.

Story Continued Below

Like other companies that collect vast amounts of consumer data, Ring — and its parent company, Amazon — has a financial stake in the details of California’s groundbreaking data-privacy law. Industry groups, including those representing Amazon, have been scrambling to change the law before it takes effect Jan. 1.

“We can talk about this later,”Jacqui Irwin said, side-stepping questions about a potential conflict outside her office last week. “It’s a little bit offensive there.”

The first law of its kind in the nation, the California Consumer Privacy Act will give Californians the right to ask companies to disclose personal information collected about them, not to sell it, and to delete it. With a federal privacy deal nowhere in sight, California’s rules are expected to set the standard for the nation, alongside Europe’s new regulations.

Irwin’s prominent role in California’s privacy debate has raised ethical questions about when lawmakers should recuse themselves from legislative decisions and committees.

One of the proposals that Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) carried this year was blasted by consumer-privacy groups as an attempt to gut the law by exempting more kinds of data from the new requirements. In an early version of the bill, the lawmaker also proposed striking from the act a provision requiring companies to disclose or delete data associated with “households” upon request, a change likely to have eased the regulatory burden on smart-device companies like Ring.

As other privacy bills were debated, in committee or on the floor, Irwin rarely abstained from voting.

The third-term lawmaker and former mayor has disclosed her spouse’s employment on her statements of economic interest, which are publicly available. California’s Fair Political Practices Commission, which enforces the state’s Political Reform Act, told POLITICO this month it had not received or investigated any conflict-of-interest complaints about Irwin.

The assemblywoman, a systems engineer by training who co-chairs a national cybersecurity task force, said it was natural for her to be involved in data-privacy legislation. She said she found questions from POLITICO about her role to be offensive in light of her professional background.

In a statement sent to POLITICO, Irwin highlighted her background and stressed that her aim since the law was hastily passed last year has been to find “reasonable compromise.”

“My role in the privacy debate in the Legislature is focused on bringing people together and solving the practical issues posed to us as policy makers and is independent of any job or role my husband may have,” she said. “My education and professional background as a systems engineer provides me distinct qualifications in the Legislature to weigh in on matters related to technology.”

Irwin has emerged this year as a key figure in negotiations over the California Consumer Privacy Act. While some lawmakers have pushed to strengthen the new law’s enforcement or expand its protections, others have proposed changes sought by the business community. Irwin advanced a proposal backed by a large coalition of industry groups, including the California Chamber of Commerce, TechNet and the Internet Association.

As she made her case for AB 873, Irwin did not mention home-security video feeds, but she used store security-camera footage as an example of data that would be burdensome and risky for businesses to be required to link to consumers in response to data-deletion requests.

The Privacy Act currently defines “personal information” broadly, encompassing not just names and addresses but geolocation information, device IDs and biometric data. Privacy experts say that would include feeds from Ring’s video doorbells, some of which are being shared with law enforcement — with consumer consent — in hundreds of communities nationwide, as reported this month by the Washington Post.

“Unquestionably when you walk up to that Ring device, it’s capturing personal information,” said Lee Tien, a senior staff attorney for the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, one of the consumer advocacy groups that opposed AB 873. “This is why a company like Ring would be concerned about the obligations imposed on them by CCPA.”

The Privacy Act also threatens to raise costs and reduce revenue streams for major companies that collect, analyze and sell customer information for targeted advertising. Amazon warned investors this year in SEC filings that “government regulation is evolving” and that unfavorable changes could slow growth and increase costs.

To mitigate such effects, trade groups representing Amazon and other major international companies have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying the state Capitol in recent months, circulating proposed language for exemptions and tweaks.

One of those groups, TechNet, named Irwin a “Legislator of the Year” in 2017.

Voting records show that Irwin has participated in matters that would appear to affect her spouse’s firm or parent company.

She voted on the Assembly floor in favor of a proposal from Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) aimed at regulating Amazon’s dealings with California vendors. (Amazon has dropped its opposition to the proposal.)

But Irwin was one of just six lawmakers out of 80 to vote against the so-called Alexa bill by Republican Jordan Cunningham (R-Templeton) that would have prohibited smart speaker devices installed in homes, such as Amazon’s Alexa, to retain or sell recorded conversations without a customer’s consent, among other restrictions. Cunningham pulled that bill from a Senate committee and plans to move it again next year.

Besides being represented by TechNet and the Internet Association, Amazon alone spent $186,000 on lobbying the state Capitol in the first half of the year, state records show. The company listed AB 873 and AB 1395 among the bills it influenced.

“Look, if your spouse has a financial interest in a company and you are voting on or are proposing legislation that would affect that company, I think there is an enormously good argument to be made that it could be a conflict of interest under the Political Reform Act,” said Jessica Levinson, an ethics and campaign-finance expert at Loyola Law School.

Such ethical questions surface periodically in the Legislature. Last year, Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) took heat for introducing wildfire-related legislation that would benefit PG&E, where his son worked. And Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins, who carried a major affordable housing funding bill in 2017, has weathered scrutiny over the years because of her spouse’s affordable housing consulting business. Atkins told the Los Angeles Times that she and her wife regularly consulted lawyers to make sure they were following “the letter of the law.”

A review of economic interest disclosure forms on the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee, on which Irwin serves, showed that Assemblyman Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake) held between $100,000 and $1 million in Apple stock and owns a software company; Assemblyman Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto) had between $10,000 and $100,000 invested in Google stock; and Committee Chairman Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park) had between $100,000 and $1 million invested in Alibaba Group and in China Mobile.

Each of the lawmakers told POLITICO that those investments did not compromise their work in the Capitol.

“Ever since being elected to the Legislature, my focus has been to fight for consumer privacy rights and my extensive record speaks for itself,” said Chau, who co-authored the Privacy Act last year and has since carried other bills supported by consumer-privacy groups.

State conflict-of-interest law prohibits lawmakers from engaging in decisions in which they have a financial interest, said Adam Silver, chief counsel to Assembly legislative ethics committee. But, he said, the “public generally” exception applies to cases in which an entire industry, profession or trade group would be affected by a law — rather than a small group of companies.

The Assembly Speaker’s office doesn’t consider statements of economic interest when making committee appointments, and it is generally up to lawmakers to recuse themselves when appropriate, said spokesperson John Casey.

In a July showdown over AB 873, Irwin told the Senate Judiciary Committee her bill contained “a short list of critical issues” that the California Chamber of Commerce had distilled from a much longer list of industry concerns.

“It is key that the CCPA is workable,” Irwin argued at the hearing, “because it should be the model for all states to adopt, avoiding calls for federal preemption that under this administration would likely be far weaker.”

But Chairwoman Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) pushed back, calling it “a dangerous bill” and “what is sometimes politely referred to as a jailbreak.” It failed, though one of its less contentious provisions made it into another privacy proposal with Jackson’s approval.

Several consumer-privacy advocates interviewed for this story would not say whether they believed Irwin’s involvement presented a financial conflict of interest. But they did draw a link between the lawmaker’s proposal and her husband’s company.

“I think it is quite likely that 873, had it passed, would have limited the application of the CCPA to the information that Ring has,” said Chris Conley, a technology and data-privacy attorney with the ACLU of Northern California. “AB 873 certainly would have affected Ring.”

Irwin told POLITICO she thinks the media have gotten the Privacy Act narrative wrong. It’s not about strengthening or weakening the law, she said, but making it work so that businesses will comply and other states will follow suit.

Before joining Ring in 2017, Jon Irwin was head of global business development for Amazon Instant Video, according to his LinkedIn page. He earns a salary over $100,000, the highest income category on the state disclosure form.

The potential for a financial conflict of interest would be less of a concern if Jon Irwin held a less powerful post at the company or Jacqui Irwin was not as involved in privacy legislation, Levinson said.

“It’s both sides that give me pause,” Levinson said. “It’s that she’s so seemingly aggressive on the issue in a way that would benefit his company, and he is so high up in the company.”

Read More

[charlesccastill]

HED and Boston-Based Integrated Design Group Announce Merger

BOSTON & LOS ANGELES–National architecture and engineering firm HED (Harley Ellis Devereaux) announced its merger with Boston-based Integrated Design Group, also known as ID, an architecture, engineering, and planning firm with a strong reputation for data center design with locations in Boston in Dallas.

According to Peter Devereaux, FAIA, Chairman of HED, this is a natural step for the firm.

“We are committed to strategic growth that increases the firm’s ability to create positive impacts for our clients and their stakeholders,” he said. “Bringing the ID team into the HED family is a step on our journey toward expanding our expertise to enable a greater impact for our clients. It also allows us to reach new audiences — both in this new market sector for HED and in all the sectors we can now better serve in the regions surrounding Boston and Dallas.”

HED leadership recognizes that this is an important, fast-growing sector throughout the U.S. and beyond.

“Many of our clients in healthcare, higher education, and corporate work, for example, are seeking this intelligence and specialized expertise. This is an example of our strong ability to bring additional resources and insight to the table for our clients,” said Devereaux.

The ID leadership and staff join the HED team working in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Sacramento offices. The team is now 420 people strong.

Tony Asfour (Photo IDG website)

Tony Asfour, Managing Principal of the Boston and Dallas offices, noted that the data center sector is experiencing tremendous growth and continues to evolve.

“Data storage, transmission, and security are supporting almost every aspect of contemporary life,” said Asfour. “Our leadership in this realm is long and deep; we bring market intelligence to all scales of this work. Our clients to-date have included tech and retail corporations, financial, healthcare, pharma, and educational institutions, as well as multi-tenant, cloud, and hyperscale data center providers.”

Since its founding in 1908, HED has earned a reputation for excellence in all facets of the designed and built environment, including architecture, consulting, engineering, and planning services. The firm of 420 people serves clients in a broad range of market sectors (healthcare, workplace, housing, mixed-use, science and technology, higher education, pre K-12 and community education, mission critical, and data centers) from eight U.S. offices (Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Sacramento).

from boston condos ford realtor http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BostonRealEstateCondos/~3/rGWbTTqP4rg/

[mikemortgage]

McDonald’s workers across US protest against sex harassment

NEW ORLEANS — McDonald’s workers staged protests in several cities Tuesday in what organizers billed as the first multistate strike seeking to combat sexual harassment in the workplace.

In Chicago, one of the targeted cities, several dozen protesters rallied in front of McDonald’s headquarters while a plane flew overhead with a banner reading, “McDonald’s: Stop Sexual Harassment.” In New Orleans, current and former employees chanted, “Hey, McDonald’s, you can’t hide — we can see your nasty side.”

Other protests were held in San Francisco; Los Angeles; St. Louis; Kansas City, Missouri, and Durham, North Carolina. The targeted restaurants kept serving food, with organizers saying the goal was not to shut them down.

Protesters demanded that McDonald’s require anti-harassment training for managers and employees. They also want a national committee formed to address sexual harassment, made up of workers, managers and leaders of national women’s groups.

McDonald’s declined to comment on the protests, saying it stood by a statement issued last week defending its anti-harassment policies. The company also disclosed last week that it will turn to outside experts to help “evolve” those policies, including consultants from Seyfarth Shaw at Work, an employment law training firm.

Protest organizers called on McDonald’s to drop Seyfarth Shaw, depicting it as an “anti-worker law firm.” They noted that it has defended the Weinstein Co. in a lawsuit over sexual harassment allegations against former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

At the New Orleans protest, McDonald’s employees arrived at a restaurant with red tape over their mouths emblazoned with the #MeToo phrase. They pulled off the tape to chant their slogans.

Tanya Harrell, 22, fought back tears as she explained that workers wanted a more effective system for handling harassment complaints. She said managers had laughed off her complaint that a male co-worker had groped her, telling her she probably had given him “sex appeal.”

She said she left McDonald’s for a while in 2017 and is now working at a different store.

Harrell was among several protest organizers who filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in May, alleging pervasive harassment at some of McDonald’s franchise restaurants.

In San Francisco, more than 50 workers and activists protested outside a McDonald’s in the Mission District. Among them was Achon Hightower, a Burger King employee who came from Sacramento to show support for fellow fast-food workers.

“There’s a lot of sexual harassment going on behind closed doors,” he said. “Things like this are kind of hidden and swept underneath the rug. They really don’t do anything about it.”

——

Associated Press writers Terry Chea in San Francisco and David Crary in New York contributed to this report.

from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2DiBEyC via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

[sugarmancompany-blog]

Business Bankruptcy in San Francisco and Sacramento, CA

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[datascraping001]

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