Nigel Farage aide faces 20 years in prison after admitting fraud charge
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One of Nigel Farage's closest aides faces 20 years in prison after posing as an international money launderer in a bid to rip off drug smugglers in the US.
George Cottrell, 22, ran the former Ukip leader's private office and was part of the Ukip media team.
He was arrested when he and Farage touched down in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in July, was denied bail and has been held in Arizona ever since.
He pleaded guilty yesterday to masterminding a scam on the so-called 'dark web' to extort money from drug traffickers - but the dealers he targeted were undercover agents.
A spokesperson for Mr Farage declined to comment.
(Photo: Youtube)
In his plea agreement, Mr Cottrell admitted: "I falsely claimed that I would launder the criminal proceeds through my bank accounts for a fee. Rather than launder any of the money, though ... I intended to retain the money."
According to court records, the scheme started when someone calling themselves The Banker posted on a black market website through an encrypted network.
The Banker told the undercover agents an associate named 'Bill' - later identified as Cottrell - could launder between $50,000 and $150,000 of drug money a month with complete anonymity.
In June 2014, he told the agents to send $20,000 to an associate, who would pass it on to him before passing it back to them.
But a week later, he threatened to report the 'dealers' to the police unless they paid him $80,000 in bitcoin.
Agents for the US Internal Revenue Service in Phoenix, Arizona investigated the exchange, before arresting Cottrell in Chicago.
(Photo: Getty)
At the time of his arrest, Cottrell was travelling back to London with Farage after the pair had attended the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. A judge denied bail because Cottrell was deemed a flight risk.
Cottrell was originally charged with 21 felonies, including attempted extortion, money laundering and fraud.
But prosecutors agreed to drop all but one count - of wire fraud - in exchange for a guilty plea.
He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the single charge.
Cottrell, who is worth an estimated £250m, is the nephew of former Tory treasurer Lord Hesketh, who defected to Ukip in 2011.