No more charges coming in money laundering case
An investigation involving Sacramento congressman’s father is done, FBI and U.S. attorney’s office say.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. attorney’s office announced Friday that it won't pursue any additional charges in the campaign money laundering scandal that landed the father of U.S. Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) in prison. The release also marks the end of the FBI and U.S. attorney's investigation.
Republicans have made the case a central point in their campaign against Bera for California's 7th Congressional District seat, asserting that the Sacramento congressman would have had to have some knowledge that his father, Babulal Bera, funneled at least $260,000 in illegal contributions into his campaign by reimbursing contributors.
The elder Bera was sentenced last month to one year and one day in prison. He had pleaded guilty in May.
“The investigation resulted in the conviction of Babulal Bera of La Palma, Calif., on charges of making excessive campaign contributions and making campaign contributions in the name of another,” says the statement released Friday by the U.S. attorney’s office for California’s eastern district. “No other charges will be sought in this matter. The United States will not comment further on this matter.”
Bera has said that he and his campaign were not aware of any wrongdoing, a statement backed up by an assertion from the U.S. attorney's office in May that it had found no evidence that Bera or his staff were involved.
“I have never believed it to be appropriate for me to comment on how authorities handle their job, and I trust the decisions they made in the pursuit of this case. My father made a grave mistake, but moving forward I’m just focused on helping my parents get through the next year,” Bera said in a statement.
Bera’s opponent, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, isn’t letting go of the issue.
“Bera was not exonerated or cleared, the statement simply says there will be no more charges filed,” campaign spokesman Dave Gilliard said in a statement. “That Bera’s elderly immigrant father master-minded a very sophisticated, quarter-of-a-million-dollar political money laundering scheme is beyond rational belief.”
On Friday, California Republican Party Vice Chairman Harmeet Dhillon, who has asked federal investigators for the names of donors used to hide the large contributions and other evidence gathered in the case, questioned on Twitter if the U.S. attorney was told to not go after Bera.