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A Man Charged In Connection With Mueller’s Russian Troll Farm Case Was Sentenced To Six Months In Prison | BuzzFeed News

A California man who pleaded guilty to selling fraudulent bank account numbers — information that special counsel Robert Mueller’s office says was used to finance Russian election interference efforts — was sentenced Wednesday to six months in prison followed by six months of home detention.

Richard Pinedo, 28, wasn’t accused of knowingly helping Russian companies and individuals accused of orchestrating campaigns to influence the 2016 presidential election. But his fraud scheme nevertheless landed him in the middle of the special counsel’s investigation.

Pinedo had asked for no jail time, but US District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, DC, found that given the scope and scale of the identity fraud, which took place over three years and involved the sale of approximately 200 bank account numbers, imprisonment was appropriate. However, Friedrich, who called it a “very, very difficult case,” chose a sentence at the lowest end of the recommended range, saying she took into account Pinedo’s immediate acceptance of responsibility, lack of criminal history, and cooperation with the government.

Source: A Man Charged In Connection With Mueller’s Russian Troll Farm Case Was Sentenced To Six Months In Prison | BuzzFeed News