New charges unsealed against Manafort as his latest bail offer is rejected
Paul Manafort. mark reinstein / Shutterstock.com
Special counsel Robert Mueller unsealed new charges Thursday against Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, and Rick Gates, who served as the president’s campaign deputy.
Both men were charged with conspiracy to launder money in October. The February indictment accuses Manafort of tax fraud and giving banks false information about his income when applying for mortgages, the New York Times reports.
According to the February indictment, more than $75 million went to offshore accounts, and Manafort—with Gates’ assistance—launderedmore than $30 million in income concealed from the U.S. Treasury. Gates got more than $3 million from the offshore accounts, and the income was concealed from the treasury, according to the indictment.
The February filing was in Virginia federal court, because that’s where the two men filed their tax returns, the Washington Post reports. Prosecutors originally tried to file the new indictment with the pre-existing one, in Washington, D.C., but Manafort would not agree to it, according to the article, and that could lead to two separate trials.
Manafort has been under house arrest since October. Also on Thursday, a Washington, D.C., federal judge rejected Manafort’s offer to put up an Alexandria, Virginia, condo as part of his $10 million bail because he already pledged the property as collateral for another home he owns, in Long Island, New York.
Manafort’s attorneys argued that the New York home is worth $13.5 million, which is more than his $10 million bail, Politico reports. In a Feb. 22 minute order, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote that both the Alexandria and Long Island properties are liable for foreclosure.
“The court has determined that in the absence of additional security or assets pledged by a surety, it will not accept as security the Alexandria property that has already been pledged in its entirety as collateral for the loan on the Bridgehampton property,” the order reads.
Manafort has offered four properties to secure the bond, according to Politico, including a Trump Tower apartment in Manhattan.
“To the extent that defendant wishes to offer the Fifth Avenue property as part of the security for the bond in a future pleading, he must supply records from the lender verifying that the mortgage payments are current,” the order reads.
