The invisible man in the plot of Ukraine: text messages reveal the role of an ex-golfer

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(CNN) - When Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman traveled to Ukraine last winter to help lawyer Rudy Giuliani seek information from President Donald Trump's political opponents, they were accompanied by a 44-year-old American named David Correia.

This is the former professional golfer and restaurant owner who met Parnas and Fruman in South Florida, where he started business with Parnas years before.

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While Parnas and Fruman, who had high-level contacts in Ukraine, worked on collecting documents that they believed were evidence of corruption by Joe Biden and his son Hunter, Correia was there to make the effort worthwhile in lucrative businesses, according to people who spoke with him at that time, as well as copies of text messages that were obtained by CNN.

Before the trip, Correia sent a text message to an American partner in which he said he wanted to be "completely prepared to close specific agreements in Ukraine while we are there," according to one of the communications seen by CNN. Although he had no experience in the gas or energy business before working with Parnas, Correia was determined to reach an agreement to sell liquefied natural gas from the United States to Ukraine through a pipeline in Poland.

When the three men were indicted last October for illegally passing foreign money into Republican political circles, attention quickly focused on Parnas and Fruman, who have become key figures in the saga of the political trial against President Donald Trump .

Meanwhile, Correia's role has had very little scrutiny. In part, this is due to the lack of details in the indictment beyond the alleged involvement of Correia in an effort to lobby in favor of a marijuana business that, according to the indictment, was secretly backed by a Russian businessman. Compared to the four charges that Parnas and Fruman face, Correia was charged with only one. The three men have pleaded not guilty.

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However, sources and documents obtained by CNN give new details about the crucial role that Correia played in promoting the commercial interests of Parnas and Fruman. The three men were not only there to help the president find information against his political opponents. They also sought to earn money.

Correia was often the key person in the trio to negotiate with business contacts in Ukraine, and his work included drafting contracts and memoranda of understanding that the group could present to potential business partners, according to four sources that related to them.

The sources who dealt with these three men said that Correia's gentle and conscious way was a useful contrast against Parnas and Fruman, who sometimes gave people the impression of being scammers.

“Lev was extravagant; he just got out of bed at 2 in the afternoon, ”said one person who regularly talked about business with the trio on the east coast. "Correia was the worker, the one who was really trying to make a business with all its connections," he added.

"Correia was nice and professional," said another person who negotiated with. "Without him, Parnas and Fruman really had no credibility," he said.

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Several days after Fruman and Parnas were trapped at Dulles International Airport, Correia landed on October 16 at JFK International Airport in New York and surrendered. After a brief appearance before the court that same day, where he was asked to pay a bail of $ 250,000, Correia has remained out of the spotlight.

Correia's lawyer declined to comment for this story.

Contacting Giuliani

Correia, Parnas and Fruman have operated together in a variety of commercial interests in Florida for years. In 2012, Correia was listed as secretary of Parnas Holdings.

Together, he and Parnas created Fraud Guarantee, a company that sought to offer a product similar to insurance to protect investors from scams, according to The New York Times .

Correia was also listed as the registered agent of the now missing Global Energy Partners corporation, which prosecutors said Parnas and Fruman used as a ghost company to illegally pass political donations to Republicans, including the super PAC (Political Action Code = badge of Trump known as America First Action Those who received donations have returned the money or handed it over to the charity America First Action maintains that he never spent the money.

Like Parnas, Correia always seemed to be trying to raise money for her business. Sometimes he asked for a loan from richer friends, according to two people who received such requests.

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By the time Trump was elected, Parnas, Fruman and Correia were connected to a network of rich people in Florida, many of whom were Republican donors. They finally found their way to Rudy Giuliani, whom they wanted to recruit to join their business, Fraud Guarantee.

Given Giuliani's experience in the security business, he wanted to be paid at least $ 500,000 to join the company, according to Reuters and sources who spoke with CNN.

Correia took the lead in trying to raise the money, sending arguments to several rich Republican donors and boasting about the possible role of Giuliani in the company. With the former mayor of New York City involved, the company would be "a home run," as two sources recall what Correia said.

Several people who received Correia's arguments and ideas now have citations from the Southern District of New York.

Other commercial efforts

Giuliani was useful in other matters and Correia began working on at least one of the former mayor's television contacts for possible business.

• READ: Rudy Giuliani denies asking Ukraine to investigate Biden ... before acknowledging that he did

Correia used the Middle East expert and frequent Fox News contributor Walid Phares to help set up a meeting in the summer of 2018 with Okba Haftar, son of Libyan general Khalifa Haftar, according to Phares. The meeting was a general discussion to do business in Libya, Phares told CNN.

Phares also said Correia proposed to hire him for consulting services if he agreed to work as an expert for his company for several months. "I have not received any draft, a contract was never offered," Phares told CNN. "There was no business."

"It's beginning"

In 2019, Giuliani began organizing a series of periodic meetings in a private room of the BLT restaurant at the Trump International hotel in Washington related to the Ukrainian issue, as CNN previously reported.

Correia was one of the regular attendees, according to an eyewitness who sat with them and heard about other meetings.

Correia also attended several Trump-related events in recent years and appears in at least two photos with the now president. A photo, published on his Facebook profile in January 2018, shows Correia with Trump during a fundraiser in October 2016 at the home of businessman Robert Pereira in Hillsboro Beach, Florida.

• READ: The 'Giuliani factor' that could condemn Trump in the political trial

Another image shows Correia and Fruman smiling with Trump at a June 2018 event at the Trump International hotel in Washington for Trump's super PAC, America First Action.

On April 1, Correia sent a text message to a friend saying "it's starting." He then sent a link to a column of Solomon written in April and whose title was "Joe Biden's 2020 Ukrainian nightmare," referring to a statement by Solomon that the Ukrainian prosecutor Yuri Lutsenko was reopening an investigation into alleged corruption by from Biden. Lutsenko declared a month later that it was false information. There is no evidence of irregularities by the Biden.

Arriving at Firtash

At all times, Correia's big goal seems to have been to find a way to sell liquefied natural gas from the US. in Ukraine and other parts of Europe. Doing so meant having a strong relationship with Naftogaz, the state oil and gas company of Ukraine. Correia's text messages show that until 2018 and 2019 he organized several meetings to forge a link with the company.

Last spring, Parnas and Fruman traveled to Israel to meet with Ihor Kolomoisky, a supporter close to the new president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. The meeting ended in disaster when Kolomoisky kicked out the two men after they suggested he should pay them to take Trump administration officials to Zelensky's inauguration.

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In a text message sent to a friend on May 18, Correia said the meeting was a "short-term headache," one that "hopefully" wouldn't harm his "other business efforts."

For the summer of 2019, the trio found a new source of potential income in Dmitri Firtash, an exiled Ukrainian oligarch who has strong ties with Putin, according to two sources who frequently talked to men. Firtash had earned billions of dollars for decades as a key intermediary in the sale of Russian gas to Ukraine.

In June 2019, according to the two sources, Parnas met Firtash, who by then needed political influence in the U.S. Firtash had lived in Vienna for the past few years and US prosecutors were asking for his extradition on bribery charges.

Of all the businesses that Parnas Fruman and Correia brought them to partner with Giuliani, Firtash was the big prize because there were many ways they could help him, both in Ukraine and the United States.

Parnas contacted Firtash with a couple of American lawyers linked to the Trump administration: Giuliani's close friends, Joseph diGenova and Victoria Toensing. Parnas was paid $ 200,000 for a four-month contract to be a Firtash interpreter, according to Parnas' lawyer, Joseph A. Bondy, who said in court that Parnas divided the money with Correia.

As Correia explained to two sources who spoke with CNN, an initial payment - enough to finance private jet trips, bodyguards and SUV trucks - was a mix between a "thank you" for contacting DiGenova and Toensing - who then advocated for Firtash before the secretary of Justice William Barr– and a payment for the work of Parnas as an interpreter. Ralph Oswald Isenegger, Firtash's lawyer, said he had nothing to comment on what sources said Correia said.

When asked for an answer about whether Firtash had met with Correia, Isenegger told CNN: "As we have said time and again, Mr. Firtash had no business with any of these gentlemen."

But, according to the two sources who spoke frequently with the group, Correia spent more than a week with Firtash in Vienna during the summer. After returning to Florida in mid-August, Correia intended to find someone selling liquid natural gas to Firtash. He told two American businessmen that he believed the Middle East had potential, specifically Qatar.

In early fall, according to the two businessmen, Correia told his partners that he would go to Dubai to close an agreement with Firtash, where Isenegger has an office.

On October 7, Correia sent a text message to a friend telling him he was in Dubai. When asked about the complainant's recent revelations, Correia wrote that he was demolished and stressed. "I haven't been able to hang up the phone and it's midnight here and I still haven't done it," Correia wrote. “Every time I try to call you another call comes in. A difficult day for everyone, ”he added.

Three days later, Parnas and Fruman were arrested at Dulles airport. On October 16, Correia flew back to the United States to surrender.

Hunter BidenJoe BidenPolitical Judgment to Donald TrumpRudy GiulianiUkraine