Democratic fundraiser Hsu gets 3 years in jail

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Democratic fundraiser and political donor Norman Hsu was sentenced on Friday to three years in prison after a California judge rejected his bid to dismiss a 16-year-old fraud conviction.

Hsu, who was who has been in custody since his arrest in Colorado in September after he failed to appear at an earlier hearing in the case.

He will be transferred to a state prison to serve his sentence.

Hsu was charged with stealing about $1 million from investors in a business fraud. He also faces federal charges in New York alleging he swindled investors in a $60 million fraud and made illegal donations to U.S. political campaigns.

His arrest prompted Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign to return $850,000 in contributions last year

Hsu's lawyers failed to convince a San Mateo County Superior Court judge that Hsu's right to a speedy trial had been violated after officials did not actively pursue him while he was a fugitive beginning in 1992.

The federal indictment charges Hsu with six counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud and three counts of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act, which limits individual campaign contributions.

If convicted in the federal case, he could face 20 years in prison an each fraud charge and five years on each campaign finance charge, plus fines, prosecutors said in December.

(Reporting by Philipp Gollner)