Chaka Fattah Jr. gets five years for fraud

Chaka “Chip” Fattah Jr. was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday for his conviction on 22 federal counts of bank and tax fraud.

Fattah Jr., the son of U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah, told NBC that he planned to appeal his conviction last fall, also stating earlier that he did not foresee himself going to prison.

“I’m not going to face any time in prison,” Fattah Jr. told NBC.

That prediction has turned out to be untrue.

Fattah, who is not a lawyer and did not graduate from college, represented himself at his trial, Philly.com reported in a related article. Prosecutors showed evidence that Fattah had taken more than $1 million from banks, clients and taxpayers, much of which was spent on personal expenses.

“Fattah engaged in persistent bank frauds, cheating on taxes, and thefts from the citizen-supported school district. He abused the trust that others placed in him and lied at every turn to further his frauds and conceal them,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Gray and Eric Gibson, a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, said in a sentencing memorandum filed last week, Philly.com added.

Fattah Jr. told NBC that he planned to appeal the verdict and that the federal prosecutors’ evidence was “prejudicial.”