Ting Shen/Photographer: Ting Shen/Bloomber

WASHINGTON – Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., a distinguished member of the Senate Banking Committee, and his spouse were indicted on fees they took bribes from New Jersey businessmen together with a former neighborhood financial institution government, in keeping with the Justice Division.

Menendez and his spouse Nadine Menendez allegedly authorized loads of 1000’s of bucks in bribes in trade for exerting political affect at the businessmen’s behalf. 

In a 39-page indictment unsealed Friday, federal prosecutors accused Menendez of sharing delicate knowledge with the federal government of Egypt and taking different steps to learn the businessmen, in trade for money, gold bars, loan bills and different treasured pieces. 

In keeping with federal prosecutors, Menendez promised “and did use his affect and gear” to counsel Philip R. Sellinger as U.S. lawyer for New Jersey, as a result of Menendez believed he may affect him with recognize to the federal prosecution of former financial institution government Fred Daibes. Sellinger isn’t accused of wrongdoing within the indictment. 

Daibes is one among 3 distinguished New Jersey businessmen named within the indictment, along Wael Hana, the founding father of a halal meat certification corporate that serves Egypt, and Jose Uribe, a former insurance coverage agent. 

On the time he made items to Menendez, Daibes was once going through federal financial institution fraud fees that will have include a decade-long jail sentence. Daibes based and was once previously CEO and chairman of the $414 million-asset Mariner’s Financial institution in Edgewater, New Jersey, which was once purchased through within sight Spencer Financial savings Financial institution in 2021 for an undisclosed money payout.

Representatives from Spencer Financial savings didn’t right away touch upon Friday.

Daibes and an affiliate were accused through federal prosecutors in 2018 of circumventing state and federal limits on lending to a unmarried borrower, in keeping with a grand jury indictment. 

Allegedly, Daibes used buddies and family members to safe hundreds of thousands of bucks in loans with out the data of Mariner’s Financial institution or the Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Corp. between 2008 and 2013. Prosecutors say pals would download loans from the financial institution and switch the price range over to Daibes, then put up falsified paperwork to cover the truth that Daibes was once without equal beneficiary. In some cases, Daibes was once stated to have voted to approve the loans as a member of the financial institution’s mortgage committee.

Final 12 months, Daibes pleaded in charge to a unmarried depend of creating false entries in reference to a mortgage record, paid again a $1.8 million mortgage and did not serve jail time, in keeping with his plea settlement.  

In January 2019, the Federal Reserve Board barred Daibes from any involvement with any insured depository, financial institution or financial institution conserving corporate. In keeping with court docket information, Daibes has remained energetic in his actual property industry and has been granted permission to depart the rustic to satisfy with traders in London and Qatar to finance one among his construction initiatives.

Makes an attempt to achieve Daibes thru his lawyer within the federal fraud case have been unsuccessful Friday afternoon.

In keeping with the indictment Friday, Menendez stated in a commentary that the “details don’t seem to be as introduced” through prosecutors. 

“The excesses of those prosecutors is obvious,” Menendez stated within the commentary. “They have got misrepresented the traditional paintings of a congressional place of work. On best of that, no longer content material with making false claims towards me, they’ve attacked my spouse for the long-standing friendships she had ahead of she and I even met. The ones in the back of this marketing campaign merely can not settle for {that a} first-generation Latino American from humble beginnings may upward push to be a U.S. senator and serve with honor and difference. Even worse, they see me as a disadvantage in the way in which in their broader political targets.” 

Menendez is the 3rd maximum senior Democratic member at the Senate Banking Committee, in the back of panel Chairman Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. 

It isn’t right away transparent how the indictment would possibly have an effect on Menendez’s paintings at the committee. In keeping with a time table from the committee issued after the indictment was once made public, Menendez continues to be set to chair a subcommittee listening to on flood insurance coverage on Wednesday, Sept. 27, the similar day he is now anticipated to seem in Big apple federal court docket. 

Brown’s place of work didn’t reply to a request for touch upon if or how the indictment will have an effect on the committee’s time table. Menendez’s place of work additionally didn’t remark past the commentary. 

At the committee, Menendez championed the nomination of Adriana Kugler to the Federal Reserve Board; she was once sworn remaining week and is the primary Hispanic particular person to serve in that place. 

He was once additionally a promoter of the SAFER Banking Act, which objectives to make it more uncomplicated for monetary establishments to serve hashish companies. The invoice was once already going through an uphill climb given its unsure selection of Republican supporters. It’s scheduled to be regarded as through the committee Wednesday, additionally. 

Menendez is up for reelection in 2024. In 2015, a federal grand jury indicted Menendez on bribery, conspiracy and fraud fees, even if that case ended with a mistrial in 2017, and Menendez received reelection after that incident.