Special counsel Robert Mueller has filed new charges against former Donald Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates.
The 32-count indictment, filed in Alexandria, Virginia, includes tax and bank fraud charges.
Gates was charged with Assisting in the Preparation of False United States Individual Income, Subscribing to False United States Individual Income Tax Returns, Subscribing to a False Amended United States Individual Income Tax Return, Failure To File Reports Of Foreign Bank And Financial Accounts as well as four counts of bank fraud and four counts of bank fraud conspiracy.
The indictment alleges that starting in 2006, the two men acted as unregistered agents of Ukraine, made tens of millions of dollars, and engaged in a scheme to hide income from U.S. authorities.
Gates and Manafort were first charged in October by Mueller, who is leading the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE COURT FILING
Gates, a former Trump presidential campaign, had agreed to testify against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and will plead guilty to fraud related charges, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
CNN reported earlier this month Gates was finalizing a plea deal and that he had been in plea negotiations with special counsel Robert Mueller's team for a month.
Gates can expect "a substantial reduction in his sentence," to likely about 18 months in prison if he cooperates with the investigation, according to the LA Times report. He is also likely going to have to forfeit any cash or valuables obtained through his alleged illegal activity.
Once a plea deal is in place, the 45-year-old would become yet another known cooperator in Mueller's sprawling probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
It would also increase the pressure to cooperate on Gates' co-defendant Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, who has pleaded not guilty to Mueller's indictment and is preparing for a trial on alleged financial crimes unrelated to the campaign. Gates pleaded not guilty on October 30 alongside Manafort.
Gates, who lives in Richmond off Cary Street Road, is currently on house arrest.
