FRESNO, Calif. (KERO) — The U.S. Attorney's Office said a 28-count indictment against former congressman TJ Cox was unsealed Tuesday with allegations of wire fraud and money laundering.
According to court documents, Cox was allegedly involved with multiple fraud schemes targeting companies he was affiliated with and their clients and vendors by creating off-the-books bank accounts and moving the money into the accounts "through false representations, pretenses and promises."
From 2013 to 2018, Cox allegedly diverted more than $1.7 million in stolen payments and loans, according to court documents.
Cox also received mortgage loan money for a property sale by allegedly falsely submitting information, including fabricated bank statements, to the lender, according to court documents.
Cox is also accused of fraudulently obtaining a $1.5 million construction loan to develop the Granite Park area in Fresno, according to court documents. Cox and his business partner’s nonprofit could not qualify for the construction loan without the loan being guaranteed and Cox falsely said one of his companies would guarantee the loan, according the court documents.
The loan later went into default at a loss of more than $1.28 million, according to court documents.
Cox also is accused of a scheme to reimburse family members and associated who donated to his campaign during his 2018 election candidacy for U.S. House of Representatives, according to the indictment.
Cox faces 15 counts of suspicion of wire fraud, 11 counts of suspicion of money laundering, one count of suspicion of financial institution fraud, and one count of suspicion of campaign contribution fraud.
If convicted, Cox faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud and money laundering. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for wire fraud affecting a financial institution and financial institution fraud. He also faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for campaign contribution fraud.
