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Federal prosecutors say U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, used tens of thousands of dollars to pay taxes and debt.
A 54-page indictment against the Cuellar’s was unsealed on Friday, charging them with an alleged wide-ranging scheme of taking bribes to further the interests of the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan and a bank headquartered in Mexico City.
The Cuellars are each charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery of a federal official; two counts of bribery of a federal official; two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud; two counts of violating the ban on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal; one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering; and five counts of money laundering.
They made a first appearance in Houston federal court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Henry Cuellar previously released a statement where he and his wife deny all of the allegations, which reiterated he is still running for reelection.
Henry and Imelda Cuellar also each posted a $100,000 bond following the hearing, court records indicate.
Those court records also reveal that there are two related cases to the charges against Henry and Imelda Cuellar. Those two indictments, however, remain sealed.
As for how they spent those alleged bribes, prosecutors said in the indictment that they used it “to satisfy their debts, pay family expenses, and make purchases.”
“For example, they used funds from Shell Company-1 and Shell Company-2 to pay $49,053 in federal taxes and $31,662 in state and local taxes, to make over $58,000 in credit card payments and over $11,000 in car payments, to spend over $18,000 at wholesale stores and on wholesale store credit card payments, to purchase a $12,000 custom gown, to make a $7,000 down payment on a new car, to pay over $27,000 to insurance and telecom companies, and to spend tens of thousands of dollars at restaurants and retail stores,” the indictment stated.
Federal prosecutors also included a notice of forfeiture in the indictment.
Should they be convicted, prosecutors will seek to seize all property that can be traced to the alleged offenses.
“Defendants Henry Cuellar and Imelda Cuellar are notified that upon conviction, a money judgment may be imposed equal to the total value of the property subject to forfeiture,” the indictment stated.
Their next court hearing is scheduled for July 1 in Houston.
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Rep. Cuellar accepted bribes to influence policy for a Mexican bank, feds say