Fund-Raiser Lum Changes Plea in Tax Fraud Case
Democratic fund-raiser Gene K.H. Lum changed his plea in a tax fraud case to guilty Thursday as part of an agreement that seeks his cooperation in other investigations.
Lum, who pleaded guilty in 1997 to making illegal donations to Democratic campaigns, admitted that he filed tax returns that claimed more than $7.1 million in false deductions for him and his wife. Lum, 59, faces as much as six years in prison and $500,000 in fines at sentencing Nov. 23.
Under the plea agreement, the government will not seek indictments against his wife, Nora, or the couple’s corporations.
The deal also ties recommendations for sentence reductions to Lum’s potential cooperation in any investigation, a prosecutor said.
The Lums, who operated a Tulsa-based gas pipeline company at the time of the violations, pleaded guilty last year to a charge of felony conspiracy for laundering $50,000 in illegal donations to 1994 congressional campaigns.
The couple each received 10 months in prison and $30,000 fines in that case.
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