NEW YORK, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- A former fundraiser for Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama was charged in New York Tuesday with trying to defraud Citibank.
The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan said Hassan Nemazee, chairman and chief operating officer of Nemazee Capital Corp., was arrested Tuesday morning. He is charged in an alleged fraudulent scheme to induce Citibank to lend him up to $74 million based on false claims he owned millions in collateral.
A complaint alleges says Nemazee submitted, and caused to be submitted, to Citibank "numerous documents that purported to establish the existence of accounts in Nemazee's name at various financial institutions containing many hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact, those were fraudulent and forged documents," the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement.
U.S. agents interviewed Nemazee at Newark (N.J.) Liberty International Airport Sunday as he was checking in for a flight to Rome, the department said. The next day, Nemazee repaid Citibank his outstanding loan of more than $74 million.
Nemazee, 59, lives in Manhattan and Katonah, N.Y., the department said.
If convicted on the one count of bank fraud, he faces up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine or a fine of twice the gain of the crime. He was expected to appear before a U.S. magistrate.
Nemazee was a national finance co-chairman for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign in 2008. The New York Times reported he was among Clinton's top fundraisers courted by the Obama campaign as Clinton prepared to bow out of the race.
