D.C. Council Chair Charged with Mortgage Fraud

Federal prosecutors Wednesday accused Washington D.C. Council chairman Kwame R. Brown with mortgage fraud, saying he lied on his home mortgage application as part of a scheme to buy a $50,000 power boat.

Brown, who immediately resigned as chairman of the City Council, was charged in a 'criminal information' document which can only be filed by prosecutors with the defendant's consent.

Prosecutors say the politician misstated his income by “tens of thousands of dollars” over a two-year period in a scheme that started in 2005.

Investigators were already probing Brown's personal finances and the flow of money tied to his 2008 political campaign, according to a report in The Washington Post.

The Post reported that Brown bought a home in the Hillcrest section of Washington for $313,000 in 2002 and then over the next few years obtained at least five loans collateralized by the property, including a home equity loan from Industrial Bank.

Eventually, the politician was in debt to the tune of $700,000, the newspaper reported.

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