Recommended

Debbie Wasserman Schultz's Former IT Aide, Imran Awan, Indicted for Bank Fraud

Democrat Congresswomen Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida.
Democrat Congresswomen Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida. | (Photo: Reuters)

A man who provided IT services for Democratic members of Congress, including Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, has been indicted on four charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said Thursday.

Imran Awan, who along with three members of his family and one friend made over $4 million by providing IT services to Democratic politicians since 2010, had access to sensitive congressional information. He and his wife, Hina Alvi, were charged with "conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, making false statements on a loan or credit application, and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions."

"The indictment ... addresses separate allegations that Awan and his wife engaged in a conspiracy to obtain home equity lines of credit from the Congressional Federal Credit Union by giving false information about two properties — and then sending the proceeds to individuals in Pakistan," Fox News reported on Friday.

Get Our Latest News for FREE

Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.

"The grand jury decision in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia comes roughly a month after Awan was arrested at Dulles airport in Virginia trying to board a plane to Pakistan, where his family is from."

Over the past several months, the Awan investigation has garnered national attention due to Awan and his family's ties to Democratic members of Congress, especially Wasserman Schultz.

In February, when Congress became aware of an investigation into Awan's activities, Wasserman Schultz was the last member of Congress to fire Awan, refusing to do so until late July when he was arrested while trying to flee the country.

In a statement released last month, Wasserman Schultz explained that she did not fire Awan until after he was arrested because up until then, her office did not believe he had done anything illegal.

"After details of the investigation were reviewed with us, my office was provided no evidence to indicate that laws had been broken, which over time, raised troubling concerns about due process, fair treatment and potential ethnic and religious profiling," Wasserman Schultz said, as reported by the Miami Herald.

Many have expressed concern over the ties between Wasserman Schultz and Awan, with news outlets including the Daily Caller citing potential national security issues.

"The Awans received millions of dollars in taxpayer funds for their work as IT staffers for Democratic congressional members," The Daily Caller reported last month. "They had full access to dozens of members' emails and confidential files, and it is near impossible to track what they did with their access, according to a former House technology worker with first-hand knowledge of the situation."

Wasserman Schultz told the Sun Sentinel earlier this month that she believed news reports about Awan, especially those emanating from right-leaning news outlets, were "completely untrue."

"The right-wing media circus fringe has immediately focused not on this run-of-the-mill investigation just reporting the facts, but jumped to outrageous, egregious conclusions that they were trying to, that they have ties to terrorists and that they were stealing data,"  Wasserman Schultz said.

In May, Wasserman Schultz threatened Chief Matthew R. Verderosa of the U.S. Capitol Police with "consequences" for holding equipment that was found at a property owned by Awan who is "suspected of massive cybersecurity breaches involving funneling sensitive congressional data offsite," The Daily Caller reported.

"I think you're violating the rules when you conduct your business that way and you should expect that there will be consequences," Wasserman Schultz said in the annual police budget hearing of the House Committee on Appropriations' Legislative Branch Subcommittee.

Follow Michael Gryboski on Twitter or Facebook

Was this article helpful?

Help keep The Christian Post free for everyone.

By making a recurring donation or a one-time donation of any amount, you're helping to keep CP's articles free and accessible for everyone.

We’re sorry to hear that.

Hope you’ll give us another try and check out some other articles. Return to homepage.

Most Popular

More Articles