FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A former U.S. Congressman from central California was once arrested Tuesday through federal brokers on cord fraud, cash laundering, and marketing campaign contribution fraud fees stemming from “more than one fraud schemes,” federal prosecutors mentioned.
Terrance “T.J.” Cox was once arrested through brokers with the Federal Bureau of Investigations in Fresno, the place he was once booked to the Fresno County prison on a U.S. Marshals hang, prison information confirmed. It was once no longer right away identified if he has an lawyer who can talk on his behalf. An e-mail message despatched to Cox Tuesday was once no longer right away spoke back.
Cox, a Democrat, represented the twenty first Congressional District from January 2019 to January 2021. The district is within the agriculture-rich San Joaquin Valley and contains Kings County and parts of Fresno, Kern and Tulare counties.
Cox, 59, was once charged with 15 counts of cord fraud, 11 counts of cash laundering, one depend of economic establishment fraud, and one depend of marketing campaign contribution fraud, U.S. Lawyer Phillip Talbert mentioned in a observation.
Talbert mentioned that between 2013 and 2018, Cox allegedly acquired $1.7 million from budget he solicited from shoppers and loans he were given for his firms after which stole through diverting the cash to “off-the-book financial institution accounts.”
Cox partly owned, controlled and was once hired through a number of firms and non-profit organizations, together with a trade that helped firms get loans and federal tax credit, an almond processing corporate and a non-profit that operated Granite Park, a sport facility in Fresno, in keeping with the criticism.
Cox additionally fraudulently acquired a $1.5 million building mortgage to broaden Granite Park, Talbert mentioned.
After his nonprofit may no longer qualify for the development mortgage for the sport facility with out a birthday party ensuring the mortgage, Cox mentioned that probably the most firms he co-owned would ensure the mortgage, and submitted a fabricated board answer that falsely mentioned that all through a gathering all corporate house owners had agreed to ensure the Granite Park mortgage.
“No assembly came about, and the opposite house owners didn’t comply with again the mortgage,” Talbert mentioned.
The mortgage later went into default, inflicting a lack of greater than $1.28 million, he mentioned.
In line with the indictment, when Cox was once campaigning in 2017 for the U.S. Area of Representatives he reimbursed members of the family and co-workers for donations to his marketing campaign, prosecutors mentioned. Cox organized for over $25,000 in unlawful straw or conduit donations to his marketing campaign, Talbert mentioned.
If convicted, Cox faces as much as two decades in jail and a $250,000 fantastic for cord fraud and cash laundering, and as much as 30 years in jail and a $1 million fantastic for cord fraud affecting a monetary establishment. The price of marketing campaign contribution fraud carries a most penalty of 5 years in jail and a $250,000 fantastic,