A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced the former Trump deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates to 36 months of probation and ordered him to serve 45 days in jail.

Gates provided extensive cooperation that helped the government secure convictions for Republican operatives Roger Stone and Paul Manafort in the Russia investigation.

Neither his lawyers nor federal prosecutors sought prison time. The justice department said Gates provided “extraordinary assistance” in multiple investigations and that prosecutors would not oppose his request for probation.

District judge Amy Berman Jackson commended Gates for his co-operation, describing it as an “important public service” that went to the heart of the central question special counsel Robert Mueller sought to answer: whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia during the 2016 election.

“Gates’ information alone warranted, indeed demanded further investigation from the standpoint of our national security, the integrity of our elections and the enforcement of our criminal laws,” Jackson said.

But she also scolded him for years of financial crimes and deception that continued even after he had agreed to plead guilty and cooperate. She said it was “hard to overstate the number of lies” and the amount of fraud involved in the case.

“All of it,” the judge said, “has to factor into the sentence.”

Gates, 47, pleaded guilty in February 2018 to charges brought by Mueller of lying to the FBI and special counsel’s office and conspiracy against the United States.

“I wish to express to this court that I accept complete responsibility for my actions that have led me here,” Gates said, before being sentenced. “I greatly regret the mistakes I have made.”

Gates is one of a half-dozen Trump associates charged in Mueller’s investigation into ties Russian election interference and ties between the Trump campaign and Moscow. All six have either pleaded guilty or been found guilty at trial.

The three who were sentenced before Gates all received prison time. Two others, Stone and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, are awaiting sentencing.

Gates was among the first defendants charged. An indictment accused him and Manafort, his one-time mentor and the chairman of the 2016 Trump campaign, of failing to disclose work for the then Ukraine president, Viktor Yanukovych, and of hiding the proceeds from US tax authorities in order to fund lavish lifestyles.

Gates has met prosecutors more than 50 times, testified in three criminal trials including the cases against Manafort and Stone, and admitted crimes the government did not already know about, according to a justice department filing.

“Gates’ cooperation has been steadfast despite the fact that the government has asked for his assistance in high-profile matters, against powerful individuals, in the midst of a particularly turbulent environment,” prosecutors wrote.

“Gates received pressure not to cooperate with the government, including assurances of monetary assistance.”

On Tuesday afternoon, ABC News reported that Manafort, who is serving a seven-year sentence in a Pennsylvania jail, had been hospitalised for a “cardiac event”. Citing anonymous sources, ABC said Manafort was likely to be sent back to prison soon.