And Mr. Fruman’s connections helped lead to a meeting between Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Shokin’s successor, Yuriy Lutsenko, according to two people familiar with the arrangements. Mr. Lutsenko, who was helping Mr. Giuliani unearth damaging information about the Bidens, also wanted Marie L. Yovanovitch, the US ambassador to Ukraine, removed from her post. She was recalled in 2019.
Efforts to oust Ms Yovanovitch became the subject of Mr Trump’s first impeachment trial and led to a federal criminal investigation into whether Mr Giuliani violated lobbying laws, according to people with knowledge of the matter. He denied wrongdoing.
But before serving as foot soldiers in Mr. Giuliani’s campaign, Mr. Fruman and Mr. Parnas were entrepreneurs who decided to start a company that would import natural gas into Ukraine.
Prosecutors said they wanted to boost the company’s profile and began making donations to Republican candidates and groups. Soon, Mr. Fruman and Mr. Parnas were attending rallies and donor rallies at places like Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s Florida club. They were a memorable duo. Mr. Fruman, who was born in Belarus, spoke a mix of Russian and choppy English. Mr. Parnas, of Ukrainian origin, exuded sincerity.
A $325,000 donation to a pro-Trump super PAC, America First Action, was reported to come from the company formed by Mr. Parnas and Mr. Fruman called Global Energy Producers. It breached campaign finance law, prosecutors said, because the money did not come from the company but from a loan Mr Fruman took out.
Mr Fruman and Mr Parnas were also accused of soliciting Russian tycoon Andrey Muraviev to send them $1 million so they could make campaign donations. The goal, prosecutors said, was to sway applicants who would help a cannabis startup that the three had been discussing.
Communications obtained by prosecutors show that Mr. Fruman repeatedly lobbied for the money, providing a bank account and routing number for a company controlled by his brother. Records gathered by prosecutors show that two companies owned by Mr. Muraviev wired $500,000 each to the company controlled by Mr. Fruman’s brother.
