A fundraiser to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. became emotional at a Monday sentencing hearing shortly before a judge sentenced him to two years in prison.
Raghuveer Nayak pleaded guilty last September to federal health-care fraud charges. He apologized and asked the judge to have mercy on him and his family. The 58-year-old Chicago-area businessman faced up to 23 years in prison.
Prosecutors alleged Nayak offered to raise $1 million for Blagojevich's campaign if the then-governor named Jackson to President Barack Obama's old Senate seat.
Nayak wasn't charged, but prosecutors said the offer should be considered at his sentencing. However the judge said he didn't put much weight on Nayak's role in the Blagojevich scandal when determining Nayak's sentence.
Nayak was sentenced for bribing doctors for referrals to surgery centers he owned. Nayak, who owns outpatient medical centers in Illinois and Indiana, was charged in a 19-count indictment with mail fraud, interstate travel in aid of racketeering and filing false income tax returns for 2005 to 2008.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
