Bank Fraud

Former D.C. Council chairman Kwame R. Brown pleaded guilty Friday to lying on bank-loan applications and violating a city campaign law, branding a once-promising star in local politics as a convicted felon. In the first of two court appearances just hours apart, a subdued Brown admitted that he committed a federal felony when he forged a name on one loan document and then switched a "3" to an "8" on another to inflate his salary. The charge of bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in...

NORFOLK, Va. — Federal court jurors in Norfolk are set to continue their deliberations in the trial of four former Bank of Commonwealth executives and a developer accused of conspiring to defraud the bank out of $71 million. The Virginian-Pilot (http://bit.ly/15TSz35 ) reports that the jury met briefly on Friday before breaking for the weekend. They resume deliberations Monday. The defendants include the former bank president and CEO, two former vice presidents and a mortgage specialist.

The District's top federal prosecutor urged city elections officials to keep probing the reelection campaign of former D.C. Council chairman Kwame R. Brown on Thursday even as his office concluded its criminal investigation. The announcement by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. that his office does not plan to bring additional charges related to Brown's 2008 campaign came hours after the former council chairman's brother pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Che Brown, 44, admitted in federal court to lying on loan documents,...

Republican Patrick Mara is pushing back against criticism of his support for Mitt Romney in last year's presidential race, saying his endorsement pales in comparison to those made by Democratic candidates. In an interview this week, Mara stood by his endorsement of Romney, saying he knew the 2012 GOP presidential nominee was never going to carry the District's three electoral votes. "We all knew he wasn't going to win in the District of Columbia, but supporting him was an important part of growing a two-party...

The brother of former D.C. Council chairman Kwame R. Brown will plead guilty in federal court to lying on loan documents, his attorney said Wednesday. Federal prosecutors charged Che M. Brown with bank fraud in court papers filed Wednesday, accusing him of inflating his income by an estimated $35,000 on loan documents he submitted to a mortgage company in 2010. The charge against Brown, 44, came in a "criminal information," a document that can be filed only with the defendant's...

D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown resigned from his seat Wednesday night, hours after he was charged with bank fraud, plunging the city government into a leadership crisis. "Because of the great respect that I have for the institution that is the Council of the District of Columbia, I have chosen the only honorable course in submitting my resignation at this time," Brown wrote in a letter to the council secretary. "I simply will not hold this body, and its important...

A former Loudoun County manager at a bank pleaded guilty Friday to stealing $14.1 million from her customers and using the money to buy houses, vehicles, a luxury motor home and a helicopter. Linda Tribby, 42, of Lovettsville pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. She faces a maximum sentence of 30 years; a sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 3. Tribby had worked as a "business relationship manager" at Wachovia Bank, which is now Wells Fargo,...

A stunning report in the New York Times depicted President Obama poring over the equivalent of terrorist baseball cards, deciding who on a "kill list" would be targeted for elimination by drone attack. The revelations — as well as those in Daniel Klaidman 's recent book — sparked public outrage and calls for congressional inquiry. Yet bizarrely, the fury is targeted at the messengers, not the message. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) expressed dismay that presidential aides were leaking...

D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, first white mayor of the District. Imagine that. The successive string of black mayors dating to home rule in 1973, broken. The collapse of black mayordom in the District — not the job, but the institution, where racial inheritance is a requisite for top leadership. No more. The prospect is no doubt as uplifting to some as it is depressing for others. Either way, it's disgraceful how the prize might be lost. Here's how it could happen: A council vote Wednesday...

It's not easy to keep all the D.C. scandals straight these days. It's almost as confusing as the city leaf-collection schedule. Can we start posting signs in each ward explaining all this? "Welcome to Ward 5. Council member stole from kids . " "Welcome to Ward 1. Aide took taxi bribes. " "Welcome to Ward 8 . . . " Oh, there's no billboard big enough for the transgressions and indulgences here. And given the latest news — bank-fraud charges against ...

A federal judge sentenced the brother of former D.C. Council chairman Kwame R. Brown to three months in prison on Tuesday for lying on loan documents after he fell behind on mortgage payments . "You cannot deal with your financial problems by making things up," U.S. District Judge Amy B. Jackson told Che M. Brown after announcing his sentence, which also includes five years of supervised release and 200 hours of community service. Brown's brother, Kwame, who was the initial focus of the...

"THERE'S A REAL difference between not being criminally charged versus running a campaign properly. " That point, made by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. this month as he closed the criminal case against Kwame R. Brown's 2008 reelection campaign, is apparently lost on the former D.C. Council chairman. That's all the more reason we hope that D.C. election officials are serious about pursuing lingering issues that surround this campaign. Mr. Machen called upon the D.C. Board of Elections — which had requested the...

The District's top federal prosecutor urged city elections officials to keep probing the reelection campaign of former D.C. Council chairman Kwame R. Brown on Thursday even as his office concluded its criminal investigation. The announcement by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. that his office does not plan to bring additional charges related to Brown's 2008 campaign came hours after the former council chairman's brother pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Che Brown, 44, admitted in federal court to lying...

Coming up today in the D.C. region: D.C. tax office: Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi is scheduled to testify before a D.C. Council committee today at 11 a.m. about problems in his agency . Hanukkah: President Obama is expected to host a Hanukkah reception at the White House this evening. It is the sixth night of the Jewish holiday. Che Brown: The brother of former D.C. Council chairman Kwame Brown is due in court today to plead guilty to bank fraud charges . Death...

SOON AFTER a felony charge was filed against the brother of former D.C. Council chairman Kwame R. Brown, his attorney released a statement that amounted to a thumb in the eye to federal prosecutors. "My client Che Brown was charged with bank fraud — not campaign finance fraud or theft or anything remotely related to his role in his brother's political campaign," said A. Scott Bolden in reporting Mr. Brown will plead guilty "not to political corruption, but to his personal mistakes.

The brother of former D.C. Council chairman Kwame R. Brown will plead guilty in federal court to lying on loan documents, his attorney said Wednesday. Federal prosecutors charged Che M. Brown with bank fraud in court papers filed Wednesday, accusing him of inflating his income by an estimated $35,000 on loan documents he submitted to a mortgage company in 2010. The charge against Brown, 44, came in a "criminal information," a document that can be filed only with...

TEHRAN — A leading Iranian banker has fled the country, the latest development in a $2.6 billion embezzlement scandal that opponents are linking to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mahmoud Reza Khavari, managing director of Bank Melli, Iran's largest state-owned bank, flew to Canada after the arrest of several top-level bankers in connection with a case described as the largest embezzlement in Iranian history, the semiofficial Mehr News Agency reported Wednesday. Khavari is among 22 people being sought by Iran's chief...

Bernard L. Madoff's massive investment fraud , which eluded federal regulators until it collapsed in 2008, began as early as the 1970s, according to a new guilty plea by a longtime Madoff employee. David L. Kugel, 66, admitted to helping Madoff create fake, backdated trading records beginning in the early 1970s, the Justice Department said. Kugel pleaded guilty Monday to six criminal counts, including conspiracy, securities fraud and bank fraud. He faces sentencing in May. The...

If a white-run government tried to put a bus depot next to the homes of ailing, low-income black residents, there would be an outcry. Environmental racism, we'd charge. But what do you call it when D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray (D) proposes the same thing? Residents of Ivy City call it "environmental injustice. " It's an accurate description, yet it lacks the sting of a race specific indictment — nothing to convey the betrayal one feels at being on the receiving end of a toxic black-on-black dumping.

"I AM NOT a victim. It was stupid. I was wrong. " With those words, with his voice cracking, former D.C. Council chairman Kwame R. Brown (D) faced a federal judge who, in sentencing him for bank fraud, spared him jail time in favor of home detention and community service. It was a far cry from the January morning in 2011 when U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. swore Mr. Brown into the city's second-highest elective office. It was also a sad but powerful reminder that no one is above the law. ...