San Francisco - Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, a prominent contributor to presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton, was ordered held without bail Friday in connection with a 1992 fraud conviction. The order by the San Mateo Superior Court came a day after Hsu was charged with orchestrating a 60-million-dollar Ponzi fraud scheme and violating federal campaign finance laws. Hsu was charged with mail fraud, wire fraud and violating campaign finance laws. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each of the fraud charges and five years on the campaign finance charge.
Hsu was convicted of fraud in 1992 but evaded authorities until the Wall Street Journal uncovered his illegal contributions to the Clinton campaign last month. Hsu is reckoned to have raised some 850,000 dollars for the campaign, which has pledged to return the money.
Hsu, a 56-year-old garment industry entrepreneur, posted a 2- million-dollar cash bail last month in connection with the 1992 case. But instead of appearing in court, he turned up in Colorado when he was taken off a train on a stretcher and hospitalized for an undisclosed medical condition.
A Hsu spokesman told the San Jose Mercury News that he had intended to appear for his court date in San Mateo but may have mistakenly boarded a train heading out of state as the result of "psychological, mental or physical breakdown."
