The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20200130032535/https://www.wsj.com/articles/lev-parnas-paid-his-way-into-donald-trumps-orbit-11579469071

Lev Parnas Paid His Way Into Donald Trump’s Orbit

Ukrainian-American with reputation for quick access to financing made inroads at White House, won GOP allies while his business ventures soured

Dating back to 2015, the private Instagram account of Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-American indicted for illegal campaign donations, appears to show VIP access to President Trump and a close relationship with Rudy Giuliani. WSJ’s Shelby Holliday reports. Photo illustration: Adele Morgan
By
Rebecca Ballhaus,
Aruna Viswanatha and
Alex Leary

After Donald Trump’s election, Lev Parnas saw a chance to cash in on his connections.

The Florida businessman and Trump donor was courting investors for a real-estate project. He took one of them, Roman Nasirov, at the time the head of Ukraine’s tax service, to Mr. Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago resort, where they chatted with the president-elect in a crowd of supporters, a video released by Mr. Parnas’s attorney shows. Mr. Nasirov ultimately helped fund a $10 million loan Mr. Parnas arranged for the project, people familiar with...