William Scarborough, Wire Fraud, New York 2015
Former New York State Assemblymember William Scarborough, 69, of Queens, New York, has agreed to plead guilty on federal and state charges stemming from public corruption investigations.
Scarborough pleaded guilty this morning to federal charges and is scheduled to plead guilty to state charges at 12:30 p.m. in Albany, New York, County Court.
Appearing in federal court before Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy of the Northern District of New York, Scarborough pleaded guilty to wire fraud and theft concerning a program receiving federal funds. Scarborough is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday, September 14, 2015, at 11:30 a.m., in Albany. He faces up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count, 10 years in prison on the count charging theft concerning a program receiving federal funds, and fines of up to $250,000 on each count.
As part of the plea agreement, Scarborough also agreed to resign his position as a member of the New York State Assembly, pay $54,355 in restitution to the State of New York and forfeit that amount to the United States.
This afternoon, Scarborough will appear before Judge Stephen W. Herrick of the Albany County Court to plead guilty to a public corruption charge related to the misuse of over $40,000 from his Friends of Bill Scarborough campaign account. As part of the plea agreement, Scarborough will plead guilty to grand larceny in the fourth degree and is expected to be sentenced to one year of jail time, resign his position in the State Assembly and donate all funds remaining in his campaign account to charity.
The federal charges and guilty plea arose from an investigation into travel voucher fraud. Scarborough admitted that from January 2009 through December 2012 he submitted 174 fraudulent New York State Assembly travel vouchers to the assembly’s Finance Department causing the State of New York to pay him $54,355 that he was not entitled to receive.
The state charges arose from an ongoing effort between Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli known as “Operation Integrity” and conducted with the FBI’s Public Corruption Task Force.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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