Chaka “Chip” Fattah Jr. Is Appealing His Conviction

Chaka Fattah Jr., walks from the U.S. Courthouse in Philadelphia in 2014. | Photo by Matt Rourke/AP

Chaka Fattah Jr. is not giving up his freedom without a fight. The 33-year-old son of U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah announced that he is appealing his conviction just three days after being sentenced to five years in prison and getting taken into custody, the Inquirer reports.

Fattah Jr., known as “Chip,” was found guilty of 22 of 23 counts against him in November, including bank and tax fraud. He was accused of falsely acquiring bank loans in order to pay off gambling debts as well as to buy clothes, jewelry and electronics, among other things.

Fattah Jr. made his choice to appeal known “in a one-sentence filing in federal court,” according to the Inquirer.

Ahead of Fattah Jr.’s sentencing, prosecutors Paul L. Gray and Eric L. Gibson expressed their intentions to seek six years of jail time for the defendant, due to their feelings about the strength of the evidence.

“The evidence demonstrated incontrovertibly that Fattah was a habitual schemer, liar and fraudster, obsessed with wealth and material possessions — the opposite of the picture of the well-intentioned legitimate businessman and entrepreneur that he tried to sell the jury at trial,” Gray and Gibson wrote.

Despite having an uphill battle ahead of him, Fattah Jr. remains hopeful. “I feel good about my chances in the future,” he told NewsWorks. He will reportedly continue to represent himself throughout the appeals process, as he did during the trial.

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