Hassan Nemazee
The brother-in-law of prominent Democratic fundraiser Hassan Nemazee has been charged as an accomplice in an alleged scheme to defraud three banks of more than $290 million, according to a Southern District of New York news release.
Nemazee, the national finance co-chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, is accused of using loan proceeds from one bank to pay off another over an 11-year period, from 1998 to 2009. The banks he allegedly defrauded in the Ponzi scheme are Bank of America, Citibank and HSBC Bank USA, according to SDNY .
According to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court and other documents, Shahin Kashanchi fabricated documents submitted by Nemazee to obtain the fraudulent loans.”Kashanchi would simply create phony account statements designed to look like real account statements, but bearing account numbers for accounts that did not exist and reflecting balances that purported to establish Nemazee’s great wealth,” the SDNY news release said.
Kashanchi also allegedly created counterfeit statements indicating Nemazee held more than $125 million in U.S. Treasury securities. According to the complaint, Kashanchi also falsified documents from Pershing LLC to help Nemazee obtain the loans.
Kashanchi, who resides in Telluride, Colo., is charged with two counts of bank fraud. Each charge carries a maximum prison term of 30 years and a maximum fine of $1 million, or twice the gain or loss resulting from the crime.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John M. Hillebrecht and Daniel W. Levy.
