CNN – The former counterintelligence director of the FBI’s New York field office has been sentenced to just over four years in prison for working for a sanctioned Russian oligarch after leaving the government.
Charles McGonigal, a 22-year FBI veteran, faces U.S.sanctions and money laundering charges for working for Oleg Deripaska, a wealthy Russian with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to violate the law.Judge Jennifer Rearden sentenced McGonigal to 50 months in prison, just short of the statutory maximum of five years.A judge ordered McGonigal jailed on February 26.
The judge stated that McGonigal “repeatedly flouted and manipulated” crucial sanctions regimes, posing a threat to US national security interests. While acknowledging the severity of these actions and the necessity of respecting the law, the judge also recognized that they do not entirely overshadow McGonigal’s distinguished career and the significant contributions he made to the United States.
Before receiving the sentencing, McGonigal expressed to the judge his deep remorse and sorrow for his actions. As a former FBI special agent, he acknowledged committing a felony, causing him extreme mental, emotional, and physical pain. Fighting back tears, he emphasized the shame he felt for embarrassing himself and the FBI, an organization he loves and respects. McGonigal humbly requested a second chance from the judge.
Prosecutors argued that McGonigal should serve five years in prison, contending that his work for Deripaska jeopardized US national security. They suggested that if a foreign government had to decide between military supplies and having the former FBI counterintelligence chief “on their payroll,” the choice would be straightforward.
“How much is it worth to them?” Our enemies have weapons and know where to buy more.What they lack is the rule of law.This is what we are doing.That’s what McGonigal was trying to sell,” prosecutor Hagan Scotten argued.”Poverty was not the reason for this crime, sir.Greed did it.It was a betrayal.”
Seth DuCharme, McGonigal’s attorney, requested a non-prison sentence, highlighting McGonigal’s many years of public service. He acknowledged that Deripaska had tasked McGonigal with gathering information on a rival oligarch, a request that didn’t seem overtly malicious but did involve a legal violation.
DuCharme acknowledged McGonigal’s poor decision, driven by the allure of risk and reward. He urged the judge to consider a recent seven-hour meeting McGonigal had with seven government agencies, undisclosed but known to the judge under seal, as proof of his cooperation. In a separate case in September, McGonigal pleaded guilty in Washington, DC, to concealing money received from a former Albanian intelligence employee and foreign contacts. He is set to be sentenced in that case in February. DuCharme also asked the judge to recommend that McGonigal serve his sentence in the New York area.
