{"id":26082,"date":"2016-08-18T20:07:48","date_gmt":"2016-08-19T03:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=26082"},"modified":"2016-08-18T20:07:48","modified_gmt":"2016-08-19T03:07:48","slug":"man-sentenced-for-making-illegal-contributions-to-sons-congressional-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=26082","title":{"rendered":"83-Year-Old Man Sentenced for Making Illegal Contributions to Son’s Congressional Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

SACRAMENTO<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

A federal judge Thursday sentenced Babulal Bera, 83, of La Palma, California, to 12 months in prison for making excessive campaign contributions using a fake name to his son’s political campaign, \u00a0officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to court documents, in 2010 and 2012, Bera\u2019s son Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) was a candidate for a seat in the U.S. Congress representing District 3 and District 7, respectively, from the state of California.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"US-AMI-BERA-Twitter\"
Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0 The Los Angeles Times<\/a><\/strong> reported that Bera, who was elected to congress, was not in the courtroom to see his father convicted of the two\u00a0counts of federal campaign finance violations. The two-term Democrat has denied knowing anything about the secret donations and has expressed disappointment in his father\u2019s actions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe district court gave thorough and thoughtful consideration to the arguments of both parties in imposing sentence,\u201d said Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert.\u00a0 \u201cThat sentence, which is significant given this defendant\u2019s age, sends a clear message that campaign finance crimes are serious offenses that will result in real consequences.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With respect to both elections, the Babulal Bera made the maximum allowable individual contributions to his son\u2019s campaign and he also solicited friends, family members and acquaintances to make contributions, which he then reimbursed with his own funds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bera did this to make contributions to his son\u2019s campaign in excess of the contribution limits established by federal law, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

With respect to the 2010 and 2012 elections, the government has identified over 130 improper campaign contributions totaling more than $260,000 and involving approximately 90 contributors living in multiple states.<\/span><\/p>\n

In following the prosecution’s sentencing recommendations, the judge\u00a0balanced the serious nature of Bera\u2019s offense with the defendant\u2019s advanced age and associated health issues.\u00a0 The court said the defendant\u2019s conduct was \u201ccalculated\u201d and \u201ccuts to the heart of the integrity we expect of elections.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Babulal Bera knew the law when it came to campaign contributions, but he tried to beat the system using straw donors,\u201d said Special Agent in Charge Monica Miller of the FBI\u2019s Sacramento, California, Field Office.\u00a0 \u201cHis sentence demonstrates the U.S. government takes these crimes seriously and will spare no effort to defend the integrity of the electoral process which is the foundation of American democracy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A federal judge Thursday sentenced Babulal Bera, 83, of La Palma, California, to 12 months in prison for making excessive campaign contributions using a fake name to his son’s political campaign, officials said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,3],"tags":[2956,2957],"class_list":["post-26082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-main-slider","category-u-s-department-of-justice","tag-congressman-ami-bera","tag-political-campaign"],"yoast_head":"\nMan Sentenced for Funneling Money to Son's Congressional Campaign<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An 83-year-old man was sentenced to a year in federal prison for illegally making cash contributions to his son's congressional campaign.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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