Former Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) will spend ten years in prison for his role in a racketeering conspiracy. It is thought to be the second-longest prison sentence for someone who served in Congress (William Jefferson holds the “honor” of the longest sentence). Fattah, who had served in Congress for nearly 20 years, was found guilty last year of all counts against him, including racketeering, fraud and money laundering.
Fattah, together with lobbyist Herbert Vederman of Palm Beach, Florida; Bonnie Bowser of Philadelphia; Robert Brand of Philadelphia; and Karen Nicholas of Williamstown, New Jersey, were charged in 2014. Last summer, Fattah was found guilty of participating in a racketeering conspiracy, as well as conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, mail fraud, money laundering conspiracy, money laundering, bank fraud, false statements to a financial institution, six counts of mail fraud and five counts of falsification of records.
Vederman, Brand, and Nicholas were found guilty of participating in a racketeering conspiracy. Vederman was also convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, bank fraud, making false statements to the Credit Union Mortgage Association, falsification of records and two counts of money laundering. Brand was also convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud while Nicholas was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of falsification of records. Bowser was acquitted of the racketeering conspiracy charges but convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery, bank fraud, making false statements to the Credit Union Mortgage Association, falsification of records, and money laundering.
The original investigation focused on Fattah Sr.’s failed bid for Mayor of Philadelphia in 2007. To finance that campaign, Fattah allegedly borrowed $1 million, disguised as a loan to a consulting company in order to avoid reporting requirements. Fattah reportedly repaid nearly half of the loan ($400,000) and made arrangements for a nonprofit that he controlled, Educational Advancement Alliance (EAA), to repay the remainder. To make it seem legitimate, records were made up to be used on tax returns and campaign finance disclosure statements.
As the Fattah was accused of exchanging political favors for financial gain and accepting bribes.
In addition to misusing those Fattah was accused of also exchanging political favors for financial gain and accepting bribes.
As the investigation, a joint effort involving the FBI’s Philadelphia Division and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Philadelphia Field Office, progressed,
Fattah previously characterized the charges as politically motivated and indicated that he plans to appeal the conviction. No matter the outcome, Fattah’s political career is essentially over. In April of 2016, Fattah lost his re-election bid to Dwight Evans. Evans beat challenger James Jones in the general election on November 8, 2016, and was sworn in on Monday, November 14, 2016. Evans went to work earlier than most since he also won the special election to complete Fattah’s term; his “regular” two-year term beginning in January.
The initial charges against Fattah were filed almost a year to the day that Fattah’s son, Chaka Fattah Jr., stood in a courtroom to hear a list of charges filed against him. Fattah Jr. was sentenced to five years in prison for fraud and tax charges and ordered to pay $1,172,157 in restitution.
Fattah is scheduled to report to prison on January 25, 2017.
