Tim Durham

Latest High-Flying Accused Ponzi Schemer Has Ties To Indiana Guv

Zachary Roth | November 30, 2009, 2:06PM

Meet the latest high-living accused Ponzi schemer with close ties to Republican politicians. That would be Tim Durham, the flamboyant Indianapolis-based owner of Fair Finance Co., and ally of Governor Mitch Daniels...

In court papers filed last week by the Feds and examined by TPMmuckraker, Durham was accused of using money from new purchasers of his company's investment certificates to pay off earlier investors, thereby thereby "lulling the earlier victims into believing that their money was being [handled] responsibily." The filing followed an FBI raid last Wednesday on Durham's Indianapolis office.

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Topics: FBI, Mitch Daniels, Sex, Tim Durham

Alan Mollohan

Dem Rep Controls DOJ Budget While Under DOJ Investigation

Justin Elliott | November 24, 2009, 2:44PM

Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) has his hands on the reins of the Justice Department budget at the same time the Feds are investigating his personal finances and allegations he steered taxpayer dollars to non-profits Mollohan himself created.

The Washington Post today reports on the conflict, which led Mollohan to recuse himself from voting on certain DOJ budget items, including for the FBI, according to his office. He is the chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science.

But Mollohan's recusal hasn't mollified one conservative critic of the lawmaker:

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Topics: Alan Mollohan, Ethics Panel, FBI, House Ethics Committee, Justice Department, Ken Boehm, Nancy Pelosi, National Legal and Policy Center, Washington Post

Bill Sparkman

Police: Sparkman Committed Suicide, Made It Look Like Murder For Insurance Scam

Zachary Roth | November 24, 2009, 2:19PM

Census worker Bill Sparkman committed suicide and deliberately made it look like murder as part of an insurance scam, Kentucky state police have concluded.

State police, working with the FBI, said at a press conference moments ago that Sparkman had recently taken out two life insurance policies that would not pay out for suicide. It appears Sparkman hoped that the scheme would benefit his son, Josh Sparkman.

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Topics: Bill Sparkman, Census Bureau, FBI, Right-wing extremism

William Jefferson

Jefferson Sentenced To 13 Years For Corruption

Zachary Roth | November 13, 2009, 6:08PM

Former Louisiana congressman William Jefferson was sentenced this afternoon to 13 years in federal prison for his conviction on public corruption charges.

Prosecutors had asked for up to 33 years. Jefferson's lawyers argued for less than 10.

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Topics: FBI, William Jefferson

Scott Rothstein

FBI: Accused Fraudster's Scheme Could Exceed $1 Billion

Justin Elliott | November 12, 2009, 2:47PM

Estimates of the size of the investment scheme allegedly carried out by politically connected Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein have now soared to $1 billion, up from $500 million, which was up from $100 million. Meanwhile, Rothstein is still free and was even taped Monday having a lunchtime cocktail at Fort Lauderdale's Capital Grille.

Civil charges were brought in the case Monday by the IRS and authorities have seized his 87-foot yacht and several sports cars, but Rothstein, who was a top moneyman for Gov. Charlie Crist known for his expensive tastes, has not been charged criminally.

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Topics: Charlie Crist, FBI, Fort Lauderdale, IRS, Marco Rubio, Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler, Scott Rothstein

Joe Arpaio

Report: FBI Probing Controversial Arizona Sheriff For "Investigating" Political Foes

Zachary Roth | November 2, 2009, 1:12PM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the hard-line anti-immigration Arizona sheriff, is being probed by the FBI for allegedly using his authority to retaliate against political adversaries, sources tell a local TV station. One of the key cases cited by Phoenix-based KPHO is one we told you about recently, in which a husband-and-wife team of big-name Washington GOP lawyers was briefly recruited to try to build a case against a local official who had clashed with Arpaio.

In response to the KPHO report, Arpaio bizarrely lashed out at ... David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney who had dared offer an expert opinion to the station.

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Topics: David Iglesias, Don Stapley, FBI, Immigration, Joe Arpaio, Joseph diGenova, Justice Department, U.S. Attorneys, Victoria Toensing