The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against Abramoff and Andrade, in addition to criminal charges from the Department of Justice.
The prosecution draws Abramoff to the headlines more than a decade after he was released from prison, where he served three and a half years after pleading guilty in 2006 to serious crimes of fraud, corruption and conspiracy as part of a widespread lobbying scandal.
Abramoff did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
His prosecution appears to be the first time that the Justice Department has filed criminal charges under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, which requires lobbyists representing national clients to register with Congress, but is believed to be widely mocked. The department has carried out a series of high-profile prosecutions in recent years under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which governs foreign lobbying, including the case against Paul Manafort, former campaign chairman of President Donald Trump.
Robert Kelner, a lawyer who advises clients on lobbying laws, said it was difficult to say whether Abramoff’s prosecution was exceptional or “this is the first opportunity in an unprecedented new effort to enforce the Disclosure Act of Lobbying”.
“The fact that it involves probably the most infamous lobbyist of all time, Jack Abramoff, makes it that much more sensational,” he added.
