--- title: Rick Gates Played Key Role in Paul Manafort's Schemes description: Despite Rick Gates’ role as Paul Manafort’s “right-hand man,” the Richmond, Va.–based operative flew under the radar. canonical: https://time.com/5006963/paul-manaforts-right-hand-man/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-02T10:26:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:05:18.559Z article:section: Politics og:title: Rick Gates Played Key Role in Paul Manafort's Schemes og:description: Despite Rick Gates’ role as Paul Manafort’s “right-hand man,” the Richmond, Va.–based operative flew under the radar. og:url: https://time.com/5006963/paul-manaforts-right-hand-man/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt356a0d6ca4cb0292/6988e44697cdff52416b3181/paul-manaforts-right-hand-man.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: paul-manaforts-right-hand-man og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rick Gates Played Key Role in Paul Manafort's Schemes twitter:description: Despite Rick Gates’ role as Paul Manafort’s “right-hand man,” the Richmond, Va.–based operative flew under the radar. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt356a0d6ca4cb0292/6988e44697cdff52416b3181/paul-manaforts-right-hand-man.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Paul Manafort's 'Right-Hand Man'  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Nov 2, 2017 10:26 AM UTC  Gates, Manafort’s longtime business associate, is accused of transferring more than $3 million from offshore accounts Gates, Manafort’s longtime business associate, is accused of transferring more than $3 million from offshore accountsSusan Walsh—AP/REX/Shutterstock  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Nov 2, 2017 10:26 AM UTC Trump’s former [deputy campaign manager Rick Gates](http://time.com/5002847/rick-gates-paul-manafort/) may lack the name recognition of his longtime boss, but he was a key player in [Paul Manafort’s criminal scheme](http://time.com/5005142/paul-manafort-indictment-foreign-agents-registration-act-fara/), according to the federal indictment released on Oct. 30. Gates’ work with Manafort dates back to the 1980s, when he arrived as an intern at Manafort’s political consulting firm. His role grew from there: the indictment lays out a range of his dubious duties, from arranging a fake document to help his boss secure more favorable terms on a loan to conveying messages from former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to D.C. lobbying and public-affairs firms. Much like his mentor, Gates is said to have improperly used overseas funds to support a lavish lifestyle. He used the tax-free windfall to pay his mortgage, revamp his $1.9 million home and pay his children’s tuition. Despite Gates’ role as Manafort’s “right-hand man,” the Richmond, Va.–based operative flew under the radar. He stayed on with the Trump campaign after Manafort was booted in August 2016, working through the election with campaign officials and the Republican National Committee. Later, he moved to a pro-Trump group, America First Policies, before joining a company run by Trump friend and fellow billionaire Tom Barrack. He was fired after the indictment. Like Manafort, Gates, 45, pleaded not guilty to all charges. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5006963/paul-manaforts-right-hand-man/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5006963/paul-manaforts-right-hand-man/"},"headline":"Paul Manafort's 'Right-Hand Man'","datePublished":"2017-11-02T10:26:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:05:18.559Z","description":"Despite Rick Gates’ role as Paul Manafort’s “right-hand man,” the Richmond, Va.–based operative flew under the radar.","url":"https://time.com/5006963/paul-manaforts-right-hand-man/","keywords":["Paul Manafort","White House"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt356a0d6ca4cb0292/6988e44697cdff52416b3181/paul-manaforts-right-hand-man.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt356a0d6ca4cb0292/6988e44697cdff52416b3181/paul-manaforts-right-hand-man.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"paul-manaforts-right-hand-man","caption":"Gates, Manafort’s longtime business associate, is accused of transferring more than $3 million from offshore accounts","creditText":"Susan Walsh—AP/REX/Shutterstock","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/paul-manafort/","name":"Paul Manafort"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5006963/paul-manaforts-right-hand-man/","name":"Paul Manafort's 'Right-Hand Man'"}}]}] ```