Philadelphia congressman Rep. Chaka Fattah has been indicted in a racketeering case based on the handling of hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal, charitable and campaign funds after his 2007 mayoral run.
Fattah’s wife, Renee Chenault Fattah is an anchor at NBC-owned station WCAU.
WCAU reports, the Feds say Fattah “paid off a campaign loan with charitable donations and federal grants, funneled campaign money to pay down his son’s student loan debt and disguised a lobbyist’s bribe as payment for a car he never sold.”
The Huffington Post reports, Fattah and his wife, Renee Chenault Fattah, also allegedly used bribery proceeds to “close on a vacation home” in the Poconos by falsely disguising an $18,000 payment on the home as a sale of their Porsche to Vederman.
The indictment also alleges that Fattah used campaign funds to pay for his and his wife’s personal expenses, as well as his son’s student loans.
“As charged in the indictment, Congressman Fattah and his associates embarked on a wide-ranging conspiracy involving bribery, concealment of unlawful campaign contributions and theft of charitable and federal funds to advance their own personal interests,” said Leslie Caldwell, who heads the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “When elected officials betray the trust and confidence placed in them by the public, the department will do everything we can to ensure that they are held accountable.”