I would love to see a video of George Webb's reaction to this news ....
A staffer working for US Representative and former Chair of the Democratic National Committee Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) has been arrested while trying to leave the country, and the aide has been charged with committing bank fraud by double-charging the House for IT equipment.
Democratic House Staffer Awan Arrested at DC Airport, Charged with Major Fraud
https://sputniknews.com/us/201707261055878974-democrat-staffer-arrested-financial-fraud/
The staffer, Imran Awan, is an Information Technology Aide. He was arrested at Dulles Airport on Monday night by Capitol Police and federal law enforcement. His passport was confiscated and he was arraigned, but he has pled not guilty to all charges.
According to the US District Court in DC, Awan is accused of attempting a $165,000 fraud against the Congressional Federal Credit Union, which provides mortgages for employees of the House of Representatives. He then allegedly attempted to wire the money to unknown individuals in his home country of Pakistan.
The Daily Caller reported that the FBI had also seized destroyed hard drives from Awan's home, although this has not been corroborated by other outlets. Similarly, The Caller reported that Awan was a known affiliate of Hezbollah.
Awan is allegedly in the center of a scandal in which the House IT department was found to be double-charging the government for equipment. He may have also exposed private information to the House, as well as stolen equipment from Representatives' offices.
In March, Awan was fired alongside his wife, fellow IT staffer Hina Alvi. The duo, along with three other aides (two of which were Awan's brothers, the third of whom was a known associate) were linked to the criminal investigation by Capitol Police. Politico reported that Alvi and the couple's children have returned to Pakistan.
"The Awans had [Democratic Representatives] in their pocket," one IT staffer told The Daily Caller. "There are a lot of members who could go down over this [procurement scandal]."
Although he lost his IT support job, Awan remained employed by Schultz as a technology adviser. He was barred from using the House's computer system, however. Awan was still on Schultz's payroll at the time of his arrest, and a Schultz spokesman reported that she fired him after he was arrested.
"[Awan] needs to have a hearing. Due process is very simple. You don't fire someone until you talk to them," said Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), who Awan had been serving as an IT support staffer until he was fired.
Awan is reportedly a veteran staffer, having served House Democrats since the Bush years. He filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and has made millions of dollars for his IT support work, to the tune of $2 million in 2004. As he has worked for numerous Democratic Representatives in his tenure, no one of them is responsible for paying his salary.
Just a day after reports emerged that the FBI had seized a number of "smashed hard drives" and other computer equipment from the residence Imran Awan, the IT aide of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, we learn that Awan has been captured at the Dulles airport while attempted to flee the country. According to Fox News, Awan has been charged with bank fraud.
Wasserman-Schultz IT Aide Arrested While Attempting To Flee Country, Charged With Bank Fraud
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-25/wasserman-schultz-it-aide-arrested-dulles-airport-while-attempting-flee-country
For those who have managed to avoid this story, which wouldn't be difficult given that the mainstream media has made every attempt to ignore it, the Pakistani-born brothers Abid, Imran, and Jamal Awan are at the center of a criminal investigation by U.S. Capital Hill Police and the FBI. Up until now, allegations of wrong doing have varied from overcharging taxpayers for congressional IT equipment to blackmailing members of Congress with secrets captured from the emails of their Democrat employers.
Just yesterday we learned that FBI agents reportedly seized a number of "smashed hard drives" and other computer equipment from the Awan's former residence in Virginia.
FBI agents seized smashed computer hard drives from the home of Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s information technology (IT) administrator, according to an individual who was interviewed by Bureau investigators in the case and a high level congressional source.
Pakistani-born Imran Awan, long-time right-hand IT aide to the former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman, has since desperately tried to get the hard drives back, the individual told The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group.
The congressional source, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the probe, confirmed that the FBI has joined what Politico previously described as a Capitol Police criminal probe into “serious, potentially illegal, violations on the House IT network” by Imran and three of his relatives, who had access to the emails and files of the more than two dozen House Democrats who employed them on a part-time basis.
Capitol Police have also seized computer equipment tied to the Florida lawmaker. (Article continues.)
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