Imran Awan

Imran Awan (born 1980) is a Pakistani-American information technology worker. He has worked as a shared employee for Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. In July 2017, at the time of his arrest, he had been working for Democrats as an information technologist for 13 years.

Biography

Awan was born in Pakistan[1] and is residing in Lorton, Virginia.[2][3] Awan started working on Capitol Hill in January 2004 as an information technology director for Robert Wexler.[4] He has provided technical support for 25 other House Democrats, working as a shared employee.[4][5] Several of Awan's relatives also worked on Capitol Hill.[5]

2017 investigations

Alleged procurement scam

In February 2017, Awan and some of his relatives were being investigated for allegedly stealing equipment from the House Democrats and violating the House IT network rules.[5][4] After this investigation was revealed, Awan lost access to the House computer network, and most of his employers dismissed him and other House staffers involved in the case, including Awan's relatives.[4] Debbie Wasserman Schultz, however, continued to employ Awan in an advisory role.[4][5][6]

On March 5, 2017, the FBI and Capitol Police stopped Awan's wife, Hina Alvi, at Dulles Airport but then allowed her to get on the flight to Lahore with her three children. [4][7]

Bank fraud court case

In January 2017, Awan and Alvi got a home equity loan for $165,000 on a house in Alexandria, Virginia from the Coastal Federal Credit Union.[4][7] According to Awan's arrest warrant, the couple did not occupy this house, and sent the money as part of a wire transfer of $283,000 to two individuals in Faisalabad, Pakistan.[4][8]

In late July 2017, Awan pleaded not guilty to one count of bank fraud.[4] He was ordered to turn over his passport, abide by a curfew, and wear a GPS device. On July 24, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and U.S. Capitol Police arrested Awan at the Washington Dulles International Airport.[4][9] He had previously purchased a ticket to Lahore, Pakistan with a return flight in January 2018.[10][11] On July 25, Wasserman Schultz fired Awan after learning about his arrest.[4][12]

References

  1. ↑ "FBI arrests US lawmaker’s Pakistan-born IT aide Imran Awan for bank fraud". Financial Express. July 27, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  2. ↑ Reid, Paula (July 26, 2017). "Former Wasserman Schultz IT staffer arrested on charges of bank fraud". CBS News. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  3. ↑ Watkins, JEli (July 27, 2017). "Democratic staffer arrested on bank fraud charge". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Fandos, Nicholas. "Trump Fuels Intrigue Surrounding a Former I.T. Worker’s Arrest". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Caygle, Heather (February 6, 2017). "House staffers under criminal investigation still employed". Politico. Politico. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  6. ↑ Daugherty, Alex; Sherman, Amy (July 26, 2017). "Wasserman Schultz kept paying tech expert suspected of stealing House computers". Miami Herald. The McClatchy Company. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Hsu, Spencer S. (July 26, 2017). "Congressional IT staffer charged with home equity loan fraud". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  8. ↑ Fatzick, Joshua (July 26, 2017). "Top Democrat IT Aide Arrested While Trying to Leave US for Pakistan". Voice of America. Broadcasting Board of Governors. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  9. ↑ Watkins, Eli (July 27, 2017). "Democratic staffer arrested on bank fraud charge". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  10. ↑ Pergram, Chad; Gibson, Jake (July 25, 2017). "Feds arrest IT staffer for Wasserman Schultz trying to leave country". Fox News. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  11. ↑ Caygle, Heather; Bresnahan, John (July 25, 2017). "Wasserman Schultz aide arrested trying to leave the country". Politico. Politico. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Wasserman Schultz Fires IT Staffer Following Fraud Arrest". Associated Press. July 27, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.