Two people from Florida pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday Plans to sell diaries and other items stolen from President Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden, to Project Veritas.
Amy Harris, 40, of Palm Beach, Fla., and Robert Kurlander, 58, of Jupiter, Fla., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport stolen goods interstate, Manhattan federal attorney Damian Williams office said.
of DOJ Announcement.
According to prosecutors, in June 2020, Ashley Biden took items containing “handwritten journals with very personal entries, tax records, digital storage cards with private family photos, mobile phones, etc.” It was kept in a private house. Delray Beach, Florida, where Harris lived temporarily.
Harris contacted Kurlander and asked him to help sell the merchandise. Kurlander texted Harris back, saying he would help her “make S*** tons of money” from her material.
In September 2020, they participated in a fundraiser for then-President Donald Trump (identified as “Candidate 2”), intended to sell diaries and other items to the Trump campaign.
Representatives of the Trump campaign told Mr. Kurlander he was not interested in buying the property and advised him to offer the product to the FBI.
“[Candidate-2] The campaign cannot use it,” Kurlander texted Harris. according to the complaint“They want it to go to the FBI. There is no way [Candidate-2] You can use this. you have to do it another way. ”
Kurlander then contacted Project Veritas. Project Veritas is a New York-based conservative activist group known for its hidden-camera sting operations targeting media organizations and Democratic politicians. The group asked Harris and Kurlander to send photos of the item using an encrypted application.
After receiving the images, Project Veritas “offered to pay for airfare, hotel and car services” for Harris and Kurlander to move the property from Florida to their offices in New York City.
Harris and Kurlander moved from Florida to New York, eventually selling their stolen property to Project Veritas for $40,000. Project Veritas denied wrongdoing and said it received the diary from a “tipper” who said it had been left in his room, adding that it had turned it over to law enforcement.
“Harris and Kurlander attempted to profit by stealing the personal property of others,” Williams said in a statement. rice field.
Both defendants apologized when they filed their guilty pleas in court.
“I know what I did was wrong and terrible,” Kurlander said in court. According to the New York Times“And excuse me.”
“I sincerely apologize for whatever I did and know what I did was illegal,” Harris said.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, conspiring to transport stolen goods interstate carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Under the terms of the plea bargain, Harris and Kurlander each agreed to confiscate $20,000, and Kurlander pledged to cooperate with the government.