U.S. Charges Obama Fund-Raiser In $290 Million Fraud

For more than 10 years, Hassan Nemazee projected the illusion ofwealth, stealing more than $290 million so that he could lead a lavishlifestyle and play the part of (a) heavyweight political fundraiser.

Hassan Nemazee, a fund-raiser for Barack Obama,Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, has been indicted for defraudingBank of America, HSBC and Citigroup Inc out of more than $290 millionin loan proceeds, U.S. prosecutors said on Monday.

The announcement follows last month’s indictment of Nemazee, head of a private equity firm and an Iranian American Political Action Committee board member, on one count of defrauding Citigroup’s Citibank.

The new indictment adds allegations that he defrauded two otherbanks, Bank of America and HSBC Bank USA, in a similar fashion byfalsifying documents and signatures to purportedly show he had hundredsof millions worth of collateral.

The office of the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan and the FBI said he usedthe proceeds of his scheme to make donations to election campaigns offederal, state and local candidates, donations to political actioncommittees and charities.

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2009-09-22