Lev Parnas, born in February 1972 in Odesa, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (now Ukraine), is a Soviet-born American businessman and political operative. He immigrated to the United States with his family as a child, settling in Brooklyn, New York, where he was raised in a Jewish family. Parnas has been involved in various business ventures, including real estate and fraudulently obtaining loans, with a history of legal troubles dating back to the 1990s, including a 2010 guilty plea to felony fraud charges related to identity theft and access device fraud. Despite these issues, he built a network in Republican political circles, associating with figures like Rudy Giuliani and becoming entangled in international affairs.

Parnas gained national prominence as a key associate of Rudy Giuliani during the Trump-Ukraine scandal in 2019. He and business partner Igor Fruman worked on behalf of Ukrainian interests to promote the debunked Biden-Ukraine conspiracy theory, aiming to undermine Joe Biden's presidential campaign. This involved efforts to pressure Ukrainian officials for investigations into the Bidens, linked to oligarch Dmytro Firtash. Parnas facilitated meetings and communications that were part of the broader Trump impeachment inquiry, with evidence showing his involvement in soliciting foreign campaign contributions. Donald Trump publicly denied knowing Parnas, but Parnas later claimed Trump was aware of the activities.

In October 2019, Parnas and Fruman were indicted by federal prosecutors in New York for campaign finance violations, including funneling illegal foreign money into U.S. elections and making straw donations to influence politicians, such as Rep. Pete Sessions and Sen. Lindsey Graham. Parnas was convicted in 2021 on charges of conspiracy, falsifying records, and foreign campaign contributions, receiving a 20-month prison sentence. He was released in 2022 after cooperating with investigations, including providing evidence against Giuliani. Parnas has since positioned himself as a whistleblower, releasing materials implicating Trump and his allies in election interference efforts.