Clinton Fundraiser Charged with Fraud

An investment banker who has served as a key fundraiser for Bill and Hillary Clinton and other top Democrats was arrested Tuesday on charges he lied to Citibank to get a $74 million loan.

Prosecutors accused Hassan Nemazee of giving Citibank documents showing he owned millions of dollars in collateral. They said documents were "fraudulent and forged."

Nemazee was to appear in federal court in Manhattan to face bank fraud charges.

Defense attorney Marc Mukasey said, "We're reviewing the allegations," but declined further comment.

The chairman and chief executive of Manhattan-based Nemazee Capital Corp. served as finance chairman for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, and was a longtime political supporter of Bill Clinton when he was president.

A criminal complaint alleges that Nemazee gave the bank documents detailing assets that "never existed or had previously existed" in accounts that had been closed years earlier. It also accuses him of providing false verifying information for financial institutions, including a phone number that actually belonged to him.

Prosecutors said FBI agents had stopped the 59-year-old financier on Sunday at Newark Liberty International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Rome. They said he paid off the $74 million loan the next day.

Nemazee faces up to 30 years in prison plus a fine if convicted.