Chaka Fattah Jr. Guilty On 22 Counts
FILE – In this Aug. 14, 2014 file photo Chaka Fattah Jr., walks from the U.S. Courthouse in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Chaka Fattah Jr., the 32-year-old son of powerful Congressman Chaka Fattah and stepson of on-leave NBC10 anchor Renee Chenault-Fattah, has been found guilty of 22 of 23 counts against him in Philadelphia’s federal courthouse on Thursday.
It had been 16 months since Fattah Jr. turned himself into authorities, charged with a variety of offenses, including filing false income tax returns, stealing from the School District of Philadelphia, making false statements to banks in order to obtain loans, and failing to pay federal taxes. Prior to the indictment, he had been under investigation for two years.
Prosecutors accused Fattah Jr. of falsely obtaining business loans and using that money to buy jewelry, clothing, and electronics and to make car payments and pay off his gambling debts. He was accused of using the majority of one $50,000 loan from United Bank to cover debts at area casinos; he once wrote a $17,500 check from a business account to cover his losses at Sugarhouse.
Fattah Jr. filed false income tax returns for several years and stole funds that were to be used for Philly schools.
The writing was on the wall in 2012, when the FBI raided his home at the Ritz-Carlton.
The congressman’s son maintained his innocence throughout and represented himself at trial. He also filed a $10 million lawsuit against the IRS, accusing the agency of interfering with his ability to earn money in the city. Fattah Jr. claimed that investigators were targeting him because of his once fancy lifestyle.
In an interview with Philadelphia magazine two weeks ago, at which he served this reporter with a subpoena, Fattah Jr. seemed disheveled and erratic, but he seemed to be doing better representing himself than most defendants. His trial had some surprising moments, including an admission from an FBI agent that the agent had leaked a story about the Ritz-Carlton raid to the Inquirer.
Sentencing is set for February 6th. He faces significant prison time as well as fines of over $10 million.
Meanwhile, Congressman Fattah was recently indicted on charges that he misused charitable donations and federal money. He says he did nothing wrong.
