Last night (Wed Dec 12) federal agents closed in on ten close associates of Rev. Al Sharpton and confiscated financial records since 2001.
Sharpton‘s former chief of staff said he was awoken at his Harlem home about 6:30 a.m. by two FBI agents who handed him a subpoena to bring the records to a federal grand jury the day after Christmas. Several other employees of Sharpton‘s National Action Network, a non-profit dedicated to promoting and ensuring civil-rights, also received subpoenas to testify before a Brooklyn panel, as well as provide a wide range of financial records, from invoices of expenses paid by cash to cash receipts to bad debt records from the years 2001 to 2007.
Sharpton himself was not among those subpoenaed in the sweep of associates.
The FBI and IRS are investigating whether Sharpton improperly misstated the amount of money he raised during his 2004 White House run to illegally obtain federal matching funds, a source told the New York Daily News. The feds are also looking into allegations of tax fraud, including whether Sharpton used funds from his nonprofit National Action Network with several of his for-profit ventures, the source said.
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Two years ago, Sharpton was already forced to return $100,000 in matching taxpayer funds but still denies any wrongdoing. Sharpton‘s run for the Democratic presidential nomination raised questions of embezzlement – including charges that he spent campaign funds on swanky hotels for himself and his entourage.
Personal finance records from Sharpton and his wife, Kathy, were also sought by investigators.
Charlie King, a spokesman for the network, told reporters “What I would tell you is that what the National Action Network has done, and will continue to do, is cooperate and comply.”
