Current:Home > StocksEx-FBI agent pleads guilty to concealing $225K loan from former Albanian official-LoTradeCoin
Ex-FBI agent pleads guilty to concealing $225K loan from former Albanian official
View Date:2024-12-24 21:06:31
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former high-ranking FBI counterintelligence official pleaded guilty on Friday to concealing at least $225,000 in cash that he allegedly received from a former Albanian intelligence official while working for the agency.
Charles McGonigal, 55, was the special agent in charge of the FBI’s counterintelligence division in New York from 2016 to 2018, when he retired.
The charge to which he pleaded guilty — concealment of material facts — carries a maximum prison sentence of five years. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to sentence McGonigal on Feb. 16, 2024.
The indictment for the Washington case does not characterize the payment to McGonigal as a bribe, but federal prosecutors say he was required to report it. The payment created a conflict of interest between McGonigal’s FBI duties and his private financial interests, the indictment said.
In August, McGonigal pleaded guilty in New York to a separate charge that he conspired to violate sanctions on Russia by going to work for a Russian oligarch whom he had investigated.
An indictment unsealed in January accused McGonigal of working with a former Soviet diplomat-turned-interpreter on behalf of Russian billionaire industrialist Oleg Deripaska. McGonigal accepted over $17,000 to help Deripaska collect derogatory information about another Russian oligarch who was a business competitor.
Deripaska has been under U.S. sanctions since 2018 for reasons related to Russia’s occupation of Crimea. McGonigal also was charged with working to have Deripaska’s sanctions lifted.
McGonigal is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 14 for his conviction in the New York case.
McGonigal was arrested in January after arriving at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport
In the Washington case, McGonigal agreed with prosecutors that he failed to report the $225,000 loan, his travel in Europe with the person who lent him the money or his contacts with foreign nationals during the trips, including the prime minister of Albania.
McGonigal hasn’t repaid the money that he borrowed, a prosecutor said.
During Friday’s hearing, McGonigal told the judge that he borrowed the money to help him launch a security consulting business after he retired from the FBI. He also apologized to the agency.
“This is not a situation I wanted to be in or to put them through,” he said.
veryGood! (6548)
Related
- Can I take on 2 separate jobs in the same company? Ask HR
- Can Car-Sharing Culture Help Fuel an Electric Vehicle Revolution?
- 40-Plus Groups Launch Earth Day Revolution for Climate Action
- 50% Rise in Renewable Energy Needed to Meet Ambitious State Standards
- Walmart Planned to Remove Oven Before 19-Year-Old Employee's Death
- Zendaya Reacts to Tom Holland’s “Sexiest” Picture Ever After Sharing Sweet Birthday Tribute
- California’s Car Culture Is Slowing the State’s Emissions Cuts
- Gulf Outsiders Little Understand What is Happening to People Inside
- Elena Rose has made hits for JLo, Becky G and more. Now she's stepping into the spotlight.
- Community Solar Heads for Rooftops of NYC’s Public Housing Projects
Ranking
- Kevin Costner says he hasn't watched John Dutton's fate on 'Yellowstone': 'Swear to God'
- Biden says he's not big on abortion because of Catholic faith, but Roe got it right
- Only Rihanna Could Wear a Use a Condom Tee While Pregnant
- Bruce Willis Is All Smiles on Disneyland Ride With Daughter in Sweet Video Shared by Wife Emma
- Melissa Gilbert recalls 'painful' final moment with 'Little House' co-star Michael Landon
- Five Years After Paris, Where Are We Now? Facing Urgent Choices
- Get These $118 Lululemon Flared Pants for $58, a $54 Tank Top for $19, $138 Dress for $54, and More
- Why Elizabeth Holmes Still Fascinates: That Voice, the $1 Billion Dollar Lie & an 11-Year Prison Sentence
Recommendation
-
What happens to Donald Trump’s criminal conviction? Here are a few ways it could go
-
Supreme Court rejects affirmative action, ending use of race as factor in college admissions
-
UN Launches Climate Financing Group to Disburse Billions to World’s Poor
-
4 Ways to Cut Plastic’s Growing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
-
US overdose deaths are down, giving experts hope for an enduring decline
-
Jonah Hill Welcomes First Baby With Olivia Millar
-
This Is the Boho Maxi Skirt You Need for Summer— & It's Currently on Sale for as Low as $27
-
The 26 Best Deals From the Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale: 60% Off Coach, Good American, SKIMS, and More