Paul Manafort, already indicted and under house arrest, may be in even more trouble. Prosecutors for Special Counsel Robert Mueller say they have found evidence of criminal activity not included in the original charges against Donald Trump's former campaign chairman.
The new information emerged as lawyers for both sides continue to negotiate Manafort's possible release in exchange for putting up $10 million in property. The following appeared in a redacted court document released Friday:
Further, the proposed package is deficient in the government’s view, in light of additional criminal conduct that we have learned since the Court’s initial bail determination. That criminal conduct includes a series of bank frauds and bank fraud conspiracies, including criminal conduct relating to the mortgage on the Fairfax property, which Manafort seeks to pledge. The government has secured substantial evidence that Manafort secured this mortgage from The Federal Savings Bank through a series of false and fraudulent representations to The Federal Savings Bank. For example, Manafort provided the bank with doctored profit and loss statements for DMP International LLC for both 2015 and 2016, overstating its income by millions of dollars. At the next bail hearing, we can proffer to the Court additional evidence related to this and the other bank frauds and conspiracies, which the Court may find relevant to the bail risk posed by Manafort as well as the risk that the banks may foreclose on the real estate being proposed by Manafort to secure his release.
Prosecutors’ references to “conspiracies” suggest that someone beyond Manafort was involved in the alleged fraud, but no further details were given.
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A report in The Wall Street Journal last year said investigators from the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman were examining loans that Manafort obtained in connection with various real estate transactions, including mortgages issued by Federal Savings Bank. That and other articles also noted that the bank’s chairman, Stephen Calk, was an economic adviser to the Trump campaign.
Meanwhile, Manafort remains confined to his home in Alexandria, Virginia.
Jackson met with both sides behind closed doors for more than an hour on Wednesday to discuss the bail issue, but there was no indication of any resolution.
The judge has yet to set a trial date in the case, but she suggested last month that a trial starting in September or October might be feasible.
Mueller levels new claim of bank fraud against Manafort (Politico)