A former congressman from California has been indicted on multiple counts of fraud, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Terrence John “TJ” Cox, 59, is charged with 15 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, one count of defrauding a financial institution and one count of campaign contribution fraud, according to the Justice Department.
Cox was elected as a Democrat in California’s 21st Congressional District in 2018 — a district in the San Joaquin Valley that includes parts of Bakersfield — and lost re-election in 2020.
He could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the wire fraud and money laundering charges if convicted. In addition, he could face up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for wire fraud and five years and a $250,000 fine for campaign contribution fraud.
Cox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Court documents allege that Cox “opened unauthorized non-book bank accounts and diverted client and company monies to those accounts through false representations, pretenses and promises.”
From 2013 to 2018, he allegedly received over $1.7 million in diverted payments from clients, investments and loan companies.
Cox is also alleged to have “perpetrated a scheme to finance and reimburse family members and associates for donations to his campaign” while a candidate for the House of Representatives in the 2018 election. He “orchestrated more than $25,000 in illegal straw or channel donations for his campaign in 2017,” says the Ministry of Justice.
Cox obtained a $1.5 million loan to build Granite Park in Fresno by falsely claiming that one of his affiliated companies could guarantee the loan. This resulted in a loan default, causing a “loss in excess of $1.28 million.”
The Justice Department also alleged that he received mortgage loan funds by submitting false statements to the lender, including false bank statements and false claims that he intended to live in the property as his primary residence. It is claimed that he actually bought the property in order to rent it to someone else.
The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation Unit are continuing to investigate.
Mirna Alsharif is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.