Former congressman TJ Cox pleads ‘not guilty’ vs. fraud charges.

Former Congressman TJ Cox was arrested and charged with fraud.

Updated 11:50 p.m., Aug. 16.

A 28-count indictment was unsealed today in the Eastern District of California charging a former member of Congress with multiple fraud schemes and campaign contribution fraud.

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.

Cox turned himself in to authorities Tuesday morning. In the afternoon, he pleaded not guilty in federal court, according to the county Sheriff's Office records. Cox was released on his own recognizance after surrendering his passport, according to court records. His next court hearing is scheduled for October 12.

Cox made history in 2018 when he won the 21st Congressional District seat by becoming the first Filipino American from California in Congress. In a close contest, he lost a re-election bid in 2020 to the current Congressman, Republican David Valadao.

According to allegations in the indictment, Cox perpetrated multiple fraud schemes targeting companies he was affiliated with and their clients and vendors. Cox created unauthorized off-the-books bank accounts and diverted client and company money into those accounts through false representations, pretenses and promises. From 2013 to 2018, across two different fraud schemes, Cox illicitly obtained over $1.7 million in diverted client payments and company loans and investments he solicited and then stole.

In addition, Cox allegedly received mortgage loan funds from a lender for a property purchase by submitting multiple false representations to the lender, including fabricated bank statements and false statements that Cox intended to live in the property as his primary residence. However, the indictment alleges Cox intended to and did buy the property to rent it to someone else.

According to allegations in the indictment, Cox also fraudulently obtained a $1.5 million construction loan to develop the recreation area in Fresno known as Granite Park. Cox and his business partner’s nonprofit could not qualify for the construction loan without a financially viable party guaranteeing the loan. 

Cox allegedly falsely represented that one of his affiliated companies would guarantee the loan, and submitted a fabricated board resolution which 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 causing a loss of more than $1.28 million.

According to allegations in the indictment, when Cox was a candidate for the US  House of Representatives in the 2018 election, he perpetrated a scheme to fund and reimburse family members and associates for donations to his campaign. Cox arranged for over $25,000 in illegal straw or conduit donations to his campaign in 2017.

If convicted, C ox faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud and money laundering. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for wire fraud affecting a financial institution and financial institution fraud. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for campaign contribution fraud. 

Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter. 

Filipino boxers making history ... in Fresno?

SCREEN CAPTURE

Filipino boxers Jerwin Ancajas, left, and Jonas Sultan stare down each other at the weigh-in over the weekend
 at the Filipino Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

IT''S BEEN almost a century since the last time two Filipino fighters fought for a title. IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas will defend his title against Jonas Sultan will fight for the title Saturday (May 26) in Fresno, Calif.

Their fight in Fresno State University's Save Mart Center will be the first world title bout between two Filipino fighters in 93 years (when Pancho Villa defended the world flyweight title against Clever Sencio on May 2, 1925 in Manila).

Ancajas, 29-1-1 (20), is promoted by international boxing icon Manny Pacquiao. Many are predicting that the polite and humble Ancajas may just be the fighter to step up and take over as the biggest star in Philippine boxing as Pacquiao enters the downside of his history-making career.

Ancalas is on the cusp of becoming a major star. His promoters hope the Fresno fight will give him the exposure to make that step to international fight fans

It will be Sultan's first fight in the U.S. Sultan (14-3) is ranked No. 1 by the International Boxing Federation and is coming off his biggest victory, a knockout of John Riel Casimero on Sept. 16 in Cebu, Philippines.


Before this fight was scheduled, neither fighter had ever been to Fresno. Choosing the place of the fight was no accident.

They probably didn't know of the city's existence. Organizers hope to attract some of California's estimated 3.5 million Filipinos, the bulk who live in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. Fresno sits strategically in the middle, almost equidistant from San Francisco and Los Angeles, each about a three-hour drive away.

Al Perez, a Fresno-area promoter for the event recognizes that Filipinos are big boxing fans. "They mirror the Mexican/American community in terms of their love for boxing. And, of course, having a world champion like Manny Pacquiao ups the profile with the Filipino pride that Manny has brought to the sport."

Perez told ESPN that he traveled with his adviser, Titus Verzosa, a lifetime member of the Filipino American Association of Fresno & Vicinity, on a grassroots tour to spread word about the fight at grocery stores, restaurants and in the nearby farming community of Delano, which has a sizable Filipino/American population.

With the popularity of the sport among Filipinos and Filipino/Americans, it is a wonder that aren't more fights featuring Filipino fighters. Promoters like to use the racial angle -- Filipinos vs. Latinos, Latinos vs. African/Americans, African/Americans vs. white -- to garner more fans.

Fresno doesn't have the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas, nor the history and traditon of Madison Square Garden, but the fighters are happy to be fighting in the U.S.

"This is an historical fight for every Filipino out there," said Michael Aldeguer, president and CEO of the Ala Promotions team backing Sultan. He told ESPN, "To be here in the U.S., in the boxing mecca of the world, and to showcase our fighters on the world stage, this is it. They have to be inspired to be part of history. I hope Filipinos realize that and come Saturday so they can say, 'I was there watching the first Filipino title fight in 93 years.'"

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Largest gathering of Hmong expected at New Year's celebration

Hmong performers entertain the large crowd celebrating the Hmong New Year in Fresno, California.

ASAM NEWS
MORE THAN 100,000 attendees are heading to Fresno this week for the three-day-long Hmong International New Year celebration, reports ABC30 News. The event began Dec. 26 and will last until Jan. 1.

Throughout the Fresno fairgrounds, people will be playing games and wearing formal Hmong costumes, traditions brought from overseas that the celebration hopes to keep intact over the generations. More than 200 vendors can be found selling traditional garb, food, music, flowers, crafts, and much more. There are also multiple competitions for sports, singing, dance, and the Miss Hmong International Beauty Pageant.

Hmong from all over the U.S. will attend this
week''s celebration in Fresno, CA.

In the middle of the fairgrounds sits a statue of General Pang Vao, an important political figure in the Hmong community. Christina Vang said of the statue, “Without him, we wouldn’t have this opportunity to be here.”

Now the largest Hmong/American celebration, the Hmong International New Year was founded in 1999, reports NBC News.

“It is the largest assembly of the Hmong ethnic group in the United States and perhaps in the world,” said Elk Grove, CA Mayor Steve Ly, the first Hmong/American mayor in the U.S.

The Hmong International New Year celebration in Fresno caps off the long chain of celebrations across the nation that began in October.

“It is a significant cultural celebration for families and clan members to celebrate the New Year privately — often referred to as ‘Eating 30’ — and public festivals that include song, poetry, and courtship games for youth,” said Seng Alex Vang, professor at UC Merced and CSU Stanislaus, told NBC News.

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