Former United States congressman TJ Cox (D-CA) recently pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing. According to the United States Attorney’s Office, 61-year-old Cox entered his plea earlier this month. He was indicted in 2022 on 28 felony charges, including wire fraud, campaign contribution fraud, and money laundering.
Reportedly, Cox created illegal bank accounts to unlawfully obtain client and company money between 2013 and 2018. Furthermore, court documents indicate that Cox fraudulently secured a $1.5 million loan to develop Granite Park in Fresno. Cox’s sentencing is scheduled for June as he faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California, released a statement earlier this month addressing the case. “According to court documents, Cox perpetrated fraud schemes targeting companies he was affiliated with. Cox created unauthorized off-the-books bank accounts and diverted client and company money into those accounts through false representations, pretenses and promises,” it said.
The February 3 press release continued, “From 2013 to 2018, across two different fraud schemes, Cox illicitly obtained client payments and company loans and investments that he solicited and then stole.” Commenting on the fraudulent loan, authorities said, “In addition, Cox fraudulently obtained a $1.5 million construction loan to develop the recreation area in Fresno known as Granite Park. ”
The attorney’s office continued, “Cox and his business partner’s nonprofit could not qualify for the construction loan without a financially viable party guaranteeing the loan. Cox falsely represented that one of his affiliated companies would guarantee the loan and submitted a fabricated board resolution that falsely stated that at a meeting on a given date, all company owners agreed to guarantee the Granite Park loan. No meeting took place, and the other owners did not agree to back the loan. The loan later went into default.”
The statement concluded, addressing Cox’s punishment, stating, “Cox is scheduled to be sentenced on June 2, 2025. Cox faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.”
According to reports, Cox’s plea deal dismissed most of the charges brought against him. The Department of Justice released a 2022 statement explaining the charges. “Terrance John “TJ” Cox, 59, of Fresno, is charged with 15 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, one count of financial institution fraud, and one count of campaign contribution fraud,” the DOJ said at the time.
"*" indicates required fields
Prosecutors in the case described the Cox’s criminal actions as “a material scheme and artifice to defraud others of money and property, and to obtain money and property from others by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.” Cox’s attorney Mark Coleman reacted to the plea, stating, ““You’re never happy when a client pleads guilty, but it gives us the opportunity to argue for a sentence we believe is appropriate.” He added, “People sometimes make shortcuts and it’s something he had to deal with.”
Featured image credit: Eric Connolly, U.S. House Office of Photography/House Creative Services, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TJ_Cox,_official_portrait,_116th_Congress2.jpg