Democrat Fundraiser Arrested In $74 Million Bank Fraud Case

Hassan Nemazee, 59, of New York City and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nemazee Capital Corporation, was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempting to defraud Citibank out of $74 million in loans. The $74 million in question has reportedly been repaid. Nemazee has been a major fundraiser for the Democrat Party, including Obama and Clinton. Nemazee allegedly provided fraudulent documents to Citibank purporting to show that he owned millions in collateral, but such documents were shown to be "fraudulent and forged." According to reports, Nemazee served as national finance chairman for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2008, and later raised money for Obama after her primary defeat. He also was Senator John Kerry's finance chairman in New York for his 2004 bid for president. FBI agents detained Nemazee at Newark International Airport prior to his planned flight to Rome. Nemazee has been released but is under house arrest having been fitted for an electronic ankle bracelet to monitor his movements. Nemazee faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Meanwhile, Democrats who received donations, including Obama and Clinton, hastily moved to return the money. Research reveals that over the past fifteen years, Nemazee and his wife and family have given nearly $1 million in donations to the Democrats.

Read the story here, here and here.

Read the DOJ announcement here.

Update (7/19/10): Nemazee, now 60, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He had pleaded guilty defrauding Citibank, Bank of America and HSBC of the nearly $300 million with fake collateral.