The indictment also alleges that Fattah used campaign funds to repay his son’s student loans, accepted bribes from a lobbyist in exchange for efforts to get him appointed to an ambassadorship or another federal post, and engaged in an “elaborate cover-up” to hide his crimes.
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The Justice Department announced that he and four “associates” were charged in a 29-count indictment for their role in the alleged conspiracy.
Longtime Philadelphia congressman Chaka Fattah was indicted Wednesday in a racketeering case stemming from the alleged misappropriation of hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal, charitable and campaign funds after his failed 2007 run for mayor. “These type of criminal acts betray the public trust and undermine faith in government”.
Federal prosecutors said Fattah, who was elected to Congress in 1994, and for associates were involved in a scheme to borrow $1 million from a wealthy donor, disguising it as a loan to a consulting company.
The indictment also accuses Fattah of seeking a $15 million federal grant for a political consultant in order to help “extinguish” a $150,000 debt owed to the consultant.
Fattah, along with members of his staff and a lobbyist named Herbert Vederman, were indicted on 29 accounts.
According to the indictment, the government alleges that Fattah was involved in a wide-ranging conspiracy that included bribery, the illegal use of campaign contributions and theft of charitable funds.
In a news conference, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger announced that Fattah and his associates are accused of taking part in five different “schemes” that were “intended to further their political and financial interests”. To hide the contribution and repayment scheme, the defendants and others allegedly created sham contracts and made false entries in accounting records, tax returns and campaign finance disclosure statements.
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Fattah and his codefendants have been advised of the indictment and will be alerted to when they have to appear in court, Memeger said.
