Today, the Eastern District of California released a 28-count indictment charging a former member of Congress with various fraud schemes and campaign contribution fraud.
Terrance 59-year-old Fresno resident John “TJ” Cox is charged with 15 charges of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, one act of financial institution fraud, and one count of campaign contribution fraud.
According to the indictment, Cox engaged in several fraud schemes against firms with which he was involved and their customers and suppliers. Cox established unlawful off-balance-sheet bank accounts and transferred customer and corporate funds into these accounts using fraudulent representations, pretenses, and promises. Cox fraudulently gained nearly $1.7 million in redirected customer payments, corporate loans, and investments he solicited between 2013 and 2018 via two distinct fraud operations.
In addition, Cox reportedly obtained mortgage loan money from a lender for the acquisition of a home by making various fraudulent claims to the lender, such as faked bank statements and false declarations that Cox planned to live in the property as his main residence. However, the indictment says that Cox purchased the home with the intent to rent it to a third party.
According to the indictment, Cox reportedly illegally acquired a $1.5 million construction loan to establish the Granite Park leisure facility in Fresno. Cox and his business partner’s non-profit organization could not qualify for the construction financing without the backing of a financially stable party. Cox fraudulently claimed that one of his associated firms would guarantee the loan and filed a fake board resolution stating that all company owners agreed to guarantee the Granite Park loan at a meeting held on a certain date. There was no meeting, and the other proprietors did not agree to support the loan. The loan eventually defaulted, resulting in a loss of about $1.28 million.
During the 2018 election, when Cox was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, he allegedly engaged in a conspiracy to pay and reimburse family members and allies for campaign contributions. In 2017, Cox organized for his campaign to receive over $25,000 in unlawful straw or conduit contributions.
For wire fraud and money laundering, C ox faces a potential statutory punishment of 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine if convicted. The maximum statutory penalties for wire fraud affecting a financial institution and financial institution fraud are 30 years in jail and a $1 million fine. For campaign donation fraud, he faces a maximum statutory punishment of five years in jail and a $250,000 fine. Any punishment, however, would be set at the court’s discretion after review of any relevant statutory elements and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take a variety of criteria into account. The defendant is deemed innocent unless proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The statement was made by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, Phillip A. Talbert.
FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation are conducting an investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry Z. Carbajal III and Jeffrey A. Spivak.
A charge is only an accusation. In a court of law, all defendants are deemed innocent unless proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.