Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, 69, will be sentenced in February 2019 on bank and tax fraud charges (MANDEL NGAN)

Washington (AFP) – Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort will be sentenced on February 8 after being convicted of fraud charges, a federal judge ruled Friday.

Manafort, 69, appeared in a wheelchair for a scheduling hearing in the northern Virginia federal court, with news reports quoting his lawyer as saying he has “significant” health issues that have arisen from his being jailed after his August 2018 conviction.

The former Republican consultant and advisor to former Ukraine strongman Viktor Yanukovych could spend the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of eight counts of bank and tax fraud in a jury trial.

He came to the court wearing a green prison jumpsuit, after the judge earlier this week rejected his request to appear in a suit. Manafort is known for his expensive taste in hand-made Italian suits.

He is also awaiting sentencing in a separate case in the federal court in Washington on money-laundering charges related to tens of millions of dollars he moved through anonymous accounts in tax havens for his work for Yanukovych’s political party.

In both cases, his sentence will depend on the extent of his cooperation with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign and Russia.

In a deal with prosecutors revealed on September 14, Manafort pleaded guilty to two counts in the Washington case and pledged to cooperate in Mueller’s probe.

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