Federal ruling says former Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed investigated over wire fraud allegations

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Federal ruling says former Atlanta mayor

A federal ruling says former Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed is under investigation into allegations of wire fraud.

ATLANTA – A recent federal court ruling on a secret grand jury investigation inadvertently linked a wire fraud investigation to former mayor Kasim Reed, according to the judge’s ruling.

No candidate is named in the decision which details alleged personal purchases of lingerie, jewelry, resort travel and furniture totaling less than $ 9,000 made with campaign funds.

The senior I-Team reporter said that after reviewing the original decision, which was then redacted, an expense is exactly the penny of a campaign expense authorized by former Mayor Reed.

“We’ve reduced crime by 33% and we’ve done it in a way that’s consistent with my values,” said former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

In a recent interview with FOX 5, Kasim Reed touted his success as mayor in the fight against crime in Atlanta. What we didn’t know then is that the new mayoral candidate is apparently under FBI investigation for the old campaign donations he spent.

The allegations surfaced in a ruling on a secret investigation into wire fraud during a political campaign. The campaign lawyer under investigation was fighting not to testify before a grand jury. But a three-judge panel here at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decided it should.

The decision – which was posted online – did not identify the candidate. Did not name the position held. But it spelled out a months-long investigation into wire fraud and a battle by federal prosecutors to get the anonymous politician’s lawyer to testify.

Although Kasim Reed’s name never appeared in the ruling, there was a hint that he was the anonymous politician.

The ruling contained a list of questionable items which appeared to be personal and which had been purchased with the politician’s campaign money. It’s illegal.

It was detailing a purchase of $ 179 at a lingerie store; $ 4,259 at a vacation resort, $ 2,079 at a jewelry store, and $ 1,003 at a Caribbean resort. None of this was disclosed on the politician’s campaign reports as required by law,

But one item leaked on a campaign report.

A “purchase of $ 1,234.47 of furniture from an online retailer, which was shipped directly to the candidate’s mother.” This purchase was disclosed on a campaign report as “Office supplies” according to the ruling.

The I-Team found an “Office Supplies” expense during the same time period – for the exact same amount – to the nearest penny – during the disclosure of then-mayor Kasim Reed’s 2017 campaign.

Mayor Reed’s campaign lawyer at the time was Jeremy Berry.

Berry’s attorney, Scott Grubman, confirmed that “Mr. Berry has received a subpoena to testify in connection with the ongoing government investigation” and the United States attorney’s office has repeatedly told him that “He was not a subject of the investigation, but simply a witness. . “

This is far from the first criminal investigation by the cabinet and administration of Mayor Kasim Reed.

For years, the FOX 5 I-Team has reported on FBI and IRS raids, agents carrying potential evidence out of town hall, threats against potential witnesses, and an overwhelming number of senior city officials. and city contractors who have pleaded guilty to a variety of federal offenses. Or are awaiting judgment. All under the administration of former mayor Kasim Reed.

We tried to reach Kasim Reed and his team but without success.

After the 11th Circuit Court decision was filed, stating that the lawyer should testify, a strange thing happened. That reference to the exact expenditure on office supplies that exactly matched Kasim Reed’s campaign report has been removed from the decision.

A legal expert told the I-Team that such a change is likely due to a petition filed by a party to the proceedings. But, because the case is under seal, we cannot know for sure.

And the now not-so-secret grand jury investigation into former mayor Kasim Reed continues.

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