Former California Democrat Congressman Arrested on Charges of Wire Fraud, Money Laundering & Campaign Law Violations

Former California Democrat Congressman TJ Cox was arrested by the FBI on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and campaign law violations.

“Cox faces 28 total charges – 15 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, one count of financial institution fraud on a mortgage, and one count of making illegal conduit contributions to his congressional campaign in 2017,” KFSN reported.

BREAKING REPORT: "Former Valley Congressman T.J. Cox is facing a wide-ranging indictment charging him with more than two dozen crimes, including wire fraud and money laundering."

Source [KFSN]

— DailyNoah.com (@DailyNoahNews) August 17, 2022

Former Democratic California congressman TJ Cox indicted for money laundering and fraud https://t.co/zt8iCDRsYr

— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 17, 2022

Prosecutors say he essentially stole about $1.7 million in loans and investments into his businesses.

KFSN added:

Federal investigators have spent years building a case against the Democrat who served in the U.S. House from 2019 through 2021.

On Tuesday, a judge unsealed the 28-count grand jury indictment prosecutors got against the former Democratic Congressman.

But because it went through a grand jury, Cox’s defense attorney told Action News he can’t comment yet because he doesn’t know what kind of evidence the government has.

Legal analyst Tony Capozzi says that’s by design.

“The only people who appear before a grand jury is the U.S. attorney and an FBI agent, the investigator in the case, and certain witnesses if the government calls them to testify before the grand jury,” Capozzi said.

FIRST ON @ABC30: Former Valley Congressman T.J. Cox (@TJCoxCongress) charged in 28-count indictment.
Wire fraud, money laundering, mortgage fraud, campaign law violations, Granite Park.
It's all in there.
I'll have details at 11 a.m. pic.twitter.com/LgOVw3JwRy

— Corin Hoggard (@corinhoggard) August 16, 2022

“In 2020, all eyes were on California district 21 as Republican David Valadao and Democrat TJ Cox battled it out in Fresno County weeks after Election Day,” The Gateway Pundit noted.

“Recall, as soon as Republican congressional candidate David Valadao  pulled ahead of Democrat Cox by over 4,000 votes in November 2020, elections officials halted counting ballots due to “Covid-19 exposure.””

However, Valadao (who turned out to be a RINO) came back and defeated Cox in 2020.

After Cox’s arrest, Rep. Valadao told ABC 30 reporter Corin Hoggard: “We all knew all along that T.J. was a shady person and it’s just been proven today.”

Cox twice battled @RepDavidValadao for a seat in Congress.
Valadao top me today:
"We all knew all along that T.J. was a shady person and it’s just been proven today."@ABC30

— Corin Hoggard (@corinhoggard) August 16, 2022

Fox News reported:

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Cox, 59, was arrested by FBI agents around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning and booked into the Fresno County Jail, according to sheriff’s records.

Prosecutors detailed in the 25-page indictment how Cox allegedly stole $1.7 million from clients and companies he was associated with from 2013 to 2018.

In one instance, Cox allegedly solicited a $100,000 loan for one of his companies in April 2017, but failed to pay the principal back to the two investors.

“More than $40,000 of [the loan] was used for Cox’s personal expenses, including private school tuition, credit card payments, mortgage payments and a $7,000 payment to Cox’s private political consultant,” prosecutors wrote.

When Cox was a candidate for US Congress in the 2018 election, he allegedly arranged for more than $25,000 in illegal straw donations by funding or reimbursing family members and associates after they gave money to his campaign.

Cox is also accused of providing fabricated bank statements on a mortgage application and fraudulently obtaining a $1.5 million construction loan to build a recreation area in Fresno. That loan went into default, resulting in a loss of more than $1.2 million, according to prosecutors.