Hassan Nemazee, 60, who once ran a private equity firm, admitted in Manhattan federal court to defrauding Bank of America Corp of more than $142 million, Citigroup Inc of $74.9 million and HSBC Holdings Plc of $74.9 million to pay his debt to Citigroup.
During the plea proceeding, Iranian-born Nemasee, who owned several multimillion dollar properties and had interests in various companies and hedge funds, said he had tried to get out of financial difficulty starting in the 1990s.
"It was my intention to repay ... but the hole that I dug was larger and I borrowed more," said the gray-haired, dapper Nemazee, who appeared embarrassed and contrite.
"I am deeply ashamed of my conduct, for the harm that I inflicted on the banks and most especially my family," he told U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein in a somber voice as family members sat in court.
Nemazee, a former member of the board of the Iranian American Political Action Committee, was a U.S. citizen whose family left Iran after the revolution there in 1979.
The committee contributes to candidates for public office in the United States regardless of party affiliation and works to support Iranian American candidates and issues important to that community, such as immigration.
Nemazee admitted to three charges of bank fraud and one charge of wire fraud. Prosecutors said he had obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in loans from the banks and used fake documents to show supposed ownership of collateral.
Nemazee was listed as one of the top "bundlers" of contributions to Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, according to OpenSecrets.org, a website run by the Center for Responsive Politics.
He typically donated more than $100,000 annually to Democratic Party political candidates, including Obama and now-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Showing posts with label Bank of America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bank of America. Show all posts
Friday, April 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Did you unwittingly give to Obama's campaign through bailouts of defrauded banks
Are you one of those who think President Obama poses a threat to the future of the United States?
Are you one of those who attended Tea Party protests against reckless government spending?
Here's more bad news: you may have unwittingly financed Obama's presidential campaign.
News broke Tuesday morning that Hassan Nemazee had been indicted for defrauding Bank of America, Citibank and HSBC of at least $290 million. He is accused of falsifying documents and signatures to purportedly show he had hundreds of millions worth of collateral.
The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan and the FBI said he used the proceeds of the loans to make donations to the election campaigns of federal, state and local candidates, donations to political action committees and charities.
Nemazee, 59, typically donates more than $100,000 annually to Democratic political candidates. He is listed as one of the top "bundlers" of contributions to Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, according to OpenSecrets.org, a website run by the Center for Responsive Politics research group.
This is where you come in. The U.S. government bailed out Bank of America to the tune of $15 billion, and Citibank to the tune of $25 billion. HSBC also received a bailout, but the amount couldnot be immediately determined.
"For more than 10 years, Hassan Nemazee projected the illusion of wealth, stealing more than $290 million so that he could lead a lavish lifestyle and play the part of heavyweight political fundraiser," U. S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said in a statement.
Nemazee was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on August 23 as he was checking in for a flight to Italy, according to court papers. He was released on bail.
Are you one of those who attended Tea Party protests against reckless government spending?
Here's more bad news: you may have unwittingly financed Obama's presidential campaign.
News broke Tuesday morning that Hassan Nemazee had been indicted for defrauding Bank of America, Citibank and HSBC of at least $290 million. He is accused of falsifying documents and signatures to purportedly show he had hundreds of millions worth of collateral.
The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan and the FBI said he used the proceeds of the loans to make donations to the election campaigns of federal, state and local candidates, donations to political action committees and charities.
Nemazee, 59, typically donates more than $100,000 annually to Democratic political candidates. He is listed as one of the top "bundlers" of contributions to Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, according to OpenSecrets.org, a website run by the Center for Responsive Politics research group.
This is where you come in. The U.S. government bailed out Bank of America to the tune of $15 billion, and Citibank to the tune of $25 billion. HSBC also received a bailout, but the amount couldnot be immediately determined.
"For more than 10 years, Hassan Nemazee projected the illusion of wealth, stealing more than $290 million so that he could lead a lavish lifestyle and play the part of heavyweight political fundraiser," U. S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said in a statement.
Nemazee was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on August 23 as he was checking in for a flight to Italy, according to court papers. He was released on bail.
Big Dem contributor indicted in $290 million fraud
Hassan Nemazee, a fund-raiser for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, has been indicted for defrauding Bank of America, HSBC and Citigroup Inc out of more than $290 million in loan proceeds, U.S. prosecutors said on Monday.
The announcement follows last month's indictment of Nemazee, head of a private equity firm and an Iranian American Political Action Committee board member, on one count of defrauding Citigroup's Citibank.
The new indictment adds allegations that he defrauded two other banks, Bank of America and HSBC Bank USA, in a similar fashion by falsifying documents and signatures to purportedly show he had hundreds of millions worth of collateral.
The office of the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan and the FBI said he used the proceeds of his scheme to make donations to election campaigns of federal, state and local candidates, donations to political action committees and charities.
The announcement follows last month's indictment of Nemazee, head of a private equity firm and an Iranian American Political Action Committee board member, on one count of defrauding Citigroup's Citibank.
The new indictment adds allegations that he defrauded two other banks, Bank of America and HSBC Bank USA, in a similar fashion by falsifying documents and signatures to purportedly show he had hundreds of millions worth of collateral.
The office of the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan and the FBI said he used the proceeds of his scheme to make donations to election campaigns of federal, state and local candidates, donations to political action committees and charities.
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