US congressman charged with fraud, perjury

US congressman Michael Grimm was indicted today on fraud, perjury and obstruction of justice charges, accused by federal prosecutors of making $1 million "disappear" from the books of a business he owned.
The former FBI agent and a second-term Republican from Staten Island was taken into custody and brought to federal court where he pleaded not guilty to charges linked to his conduct while the owner of a health food restaurant before he became a member of the House of Representatives.
A federal indictment charged Grimm with 20 counts, including five counts each of mail fraud and wire fraud, three counts of filing false tax returns, and two counts of perjury.

"Michael Grimm made the choice to go from upholding the law to breaking it. In so doing he turned his back on every oath he had ever taken," US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Loretta Lynch said.
She outlined how Grimm hired undocumented workers and paid them off the books so he could fraudulently under-report earnings at Healthalicious, the Manhattan restaurant he co-owned from 2007 through 2010.
The scheme, Lynch said, allowed Grimm to make "over $1 million simply disappear."

The indictment said that while he was a congressman in January 2013, "Grimm lied under oath during a civil deposition about his role in operating the restaurant, including falsely denying that he had paid Healthalicious's workers in cash."

After his release on a reported USD 400,000 bond, Grimm stated he would not step down but "get back to work."
"I have an election to win," he said, referring to November mid-term elections for all 435 House seats.
"As for the allegations, we're going to fight to the nails until I am fully exonerated."
If convicted, he could get up to 20 years for each count of mail and wire fraud, in addition to jail time for the other charges.