Accused Celebrity Swindler Kenneth Starr Gave Cash to Politicians

Accused Ponzi-schemer Kenneth Starr, who reportedly donated thousands to politicians

AP Photo/Nati Harnik

By Adam Nichols

DNAinfo News Editor

Manhattan – The financial adviser accused of masterminding a $30 million celebrity swindle donated much of his money to politicians, records show.

Kenneth Starr gave thousands of dollars to elected officials including President Obama,  Vice President Joseph Biden and U.S. Senator John McCain, according to documents seen by NBC New York.

Since 2001, he’s given $79,000 to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is the Democratic nomination for governor. Most recently, he gave Cuomo $10,000 last year, NBC New York reported.

Cuomo’s campaign told the website it has set aside the money and is consulting prosecutors about what to do with it.

The records show he gave $9,200 to Obama, $4,600 to Biden and $2,300 to McCain.

Starr, 66, has been charged with operating a Ponzi scheme and ripping off clients to the tune of $30 million. The list of his alleged victims includes Uma Thurman,  jeweler-to-the-stars Jacob Arabov and heiress Rachel “Bunny” Mellon.

Starr also wooed Wesley Snipes, Martin Scorsese, Sylvester Stallone, Natalie Portman, Nora Ephron and Jack Nicholson, according to reports.

Some of the cash allegedly was siphoned into bank accounts controlled by Starr's friends, including City Council President Andrew Stein who is accused of spending $1.6 million of the money.

Starr’s downfall came when he bought  an Upper East Side pad, court papers claim.

The East 74th Street condo, complete with five bedrooms, a 32-foot granite lap pool and 1,500 square foot garden, cost $7.5 million.

The cash for it came from unauthorized transfers from three of his clients’ accounts, according to the legal complaint.

But he’d been living the high life for years, mingling with New York’s high society and showering his stripper wife, Diane Passage, with lavish gifts, the legal complaint claims.

He is being held without bail.

State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, whose campaign was reportedly given $79,000 by accused swindler Kenneth Starr

AP Image

Diane Passage, the glamorous wife that Kenneth Starr showered with expensive gifts

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