SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Paul Erickson, a former conservative political operative has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for fraud following new scrutiny from his involvement with Maria Butina, a Russian agent, who gained political access in South Dakota and organizations such as the National Rifle Association, with the help of Erickson and others.
A judge handed the sentence down in federal court Monday. Last fall, Erickson pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges.
Prosecutors linked him to several fraud schemes including a sham housing project at the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota.
Those schemes first came to light when authorities began investigating his ties to Butina who plotted to infiltrate conservative political circles and open back channel lines of communication as part of an unofficial influence campagin that targeting the 2016 U.S. presidential race. She was sentenced to 18 months in 2018. After serving her sentence, she was deported.
Erickson was not charged for his connections with Butina.
