Democratic Fundraiser Charged in Citigroup Fraud

[Denny Crane]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/32554816

Democratic Fundraiser Charged in Citigroup Fraud

The U.S. attorney in New York on Tuesday charged a New York investor and major Democratic fund-raiser with a $74 million scheme to defraud Citigroup.

Source: nemazee.comHassan Nemazee

Hassan Nemazee, 59, was charged with one count of bank fraud, and faces up to 30 years in prison plus a fine. His lawyer Marc Mukasey, a former federal prosecutor, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Nemazee was a national finance chair of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, and a supporter of John Kerry's run for the White House in 2004.

He typically donates more than $100,000 annually to Democratic political candidates, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Charles Schumer, and sits on the board of the Iranian American Political Action Committee.

Bill Clinton, when he was president, nominated Nemazee to be U.S. ambassador to Argentina.

Prosecutors said Nemazee, the chairman and chief executive of Nemazee Capital, sought to induce Citigroup's [C 4.75 -0.07 (-1.45%) ] banking unit to lend up to $74 million based on fraudulent and forged documents suggesting that he had hundreds of millions of dollars of accounts available as collateral.

They said Nemazee also provided Citigroup with fake references so that when the bank would try to confirm details about his accounts, it would actually be contacting him. The scheme lasted from December 2006 to this month, the prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said federal agents stopped him Sunday at Newark Liberty International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Rome, and that he repaid a more than $74 million loan to Citigroup the following day.

Nemazee has homes in Manhattan and the suburb of Katonah, New York, prosecutors said.

According to its Web site, Nemazee Capital is a private equity firm that was founded in 1987 and specializes in financial services. It said its acquisitions have included Carret Asset Management, a privately held firm founded by legendary investor Philip Carret, and part of what is now Brean Murray Carret & Co, a small investment bank.

Brean did not immediately return a request for a comment. Citigroup spokeswoman Shannon Bell said the bank is working with authorities on the matter.

 

[Denny Crane]

I don't expect any outrage from those who voted Pelosi in on the "culture of corruption" bullshit.

 

[yakbladder]

I don't expect any outrage from those who voted Pelosi in on the "culture of corruption" bullshit.

???

If he's corrupt (and guilty) then he should be sentenced and serve his time.

And those who got money from him should donate it to some charity.

I don't really think outrage over corruption should be / necessarily is partisan.

 

[Denny Crane]

???

If he's corrupt (and guilty) then he should be sentenced and serve his time.

And those who got money from him should donate it to some charity.

I don't really think outrage over corruption should be / necessarily is partisan.

I prefer the Jack Abramoff treatment for these types and the types they contribute to.

It really shouldn't be so one-sided, where one side gets to donate some to charity while the illegality of it all is basically swept under the rug.

 

[PapaG]

Hell, he's only the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. I imagine a GOP member with similar problems would have already resigned his chairmanship, at the very least.

Charlie Rangel discloses $660K more in assets

New financial disclosure reports filed by Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) show that the veteran lawmaker failed to report more than $660,000 in assets during 2007, a potential violation of House ethics rules.


Rangel, chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, also had previously stated that he sold a Florida condominium in 2007, but an amended report covering that year – filed in mid-August – now makes no mention of that transaction. It appears that Rangel no longer owns the condo as it is not listed on his 2008 financial report, filed last month.


The latest revelations on Rangel’s personal finances may prove problematic for the New York Democrat, who is already the target of a wide-ranging ethics investigation. That probe, which Rangel and House Democratic leaders had hoped would last a few months, is now coming up on its one-year anniversary.


The ethics panel is looking into Rangel’s use of several rent-stabilized apartments in a luxury Harlem apartment building, his failure to fully pay taxes on a vacation home in the Dominican Republic, and the lawmaker’s fundraising on behalf of the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College in New York City.


The ethics committee recently broadened the Rangel investigation to include Caribbean trips taken by Rangel and four other lawmakers. The panel is seeking to determine if the trips complied with the House’s ban on corporate-funded travel.


Rangel has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, but the new financial-disclosure reports for 2007 show at least $662,000 in previously undeclared assets held by the lawmaker.


These assets include several “empty” lots in Glassboro, N.J., valued at more than $3,000; a stock fund worth at least $250,000; an IRA account


with more than $250,000 in assets; and investment fund account worth between $50,000 and $100,000.


Rangel also downgraded – without explaining why – the value of his Dominican Republican vacation home. In his original version of the 2007 report, Rangel declared that home was worth between $250,000 to $500,000.


But in the latest version of his 2007 report, Rangel valued the Dominican home at between $100,000 to $250,000.


Rangel, whose committee oversees tax policy, was forced to pay back taxes on $75,000 in rental income from the Dominican vacation home that he did not disclose. The amended disclosure reports filed by Rangel were first reported by CQ Politics


In a statement on the amended reports, Rangel’s office downplayed any controversy, saying the New York Democrat had previously indicated that his disclosure reports needed to be revised.


Rangel also said he would have no further comment on the matter because of the ongoing ethics committee investigation.


"Last fall the Congressman publicly acknowledged errors in some of his previously filed forms and committed to a thorough review of his financial records,” said Elbert Garcia, a Rangel spokesman.


“[Rangel] said at that time that he would correct any mistakes, and with these amendments he has done so. Congressman Rangel is confident that his records have been subjected to an exhaustive and complete review, and that the amendments accurately reflect his financial interests. Indeed, Congressman Rangel has subjected himself to an unprecedented level of scrutiny. Congressman Rangel also himself initiated the Ethics Committee inquiry, which is pending.”



Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26438.html#ixzz0PFYUfaOJ

 

[barfo]

I don't expect any outrage from those who voted Pelosi in on the "culture of corruption" bullshit.

Do you mean Californians, or house members?

barfo

 

[maxiep]

$660K? An honest mistake. Of course, he'll be re-elected on the "Fuck Whitey" vote that kept Marion Barry in power for years.

 

[bodyman5001]

$660K? An honest mistake. Of course, he'll be re-elected on the "Fuck Whitey" vote that kept Marion Barry in power for years.

He better watch out, whitey can make meth in the car on the way to vote now.

 

[Denny Crane]

Do you mean Californians, or house members?

barfo

You figured out it's a ripple effect.

Californians voted her in, then all the idiots elected to congress voted her as speaker.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

He better watch out, whitey can make meth in the car on the way to vote now.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Funny line.

+1

 

[barfo]

all the idiots elected to congress voted her as speaker.

It was unanimous?

It's rare than one congressperson can obtain incriminating photos of every other member.

barfo

 

[Denny Crane]

It was unanimous?

It's rare than one congressperson can obtain incriminating photos of every other member.

barfo

it was a huge landslide. I'm talking about how they had the votes to elect her.

It was through a campaign against "culture of corruption" and all we got was a new culture of corruption.