Former Illinois congressman Aaron Schock indicted
Former Illinois congressman Aaron Schock, once a rising star in the Republican Party, was charged in a 24-count indictment Thursday, alleging that he defrauded the government of more than $100,000 by allegedly falsifying vouchers for reimbursement for personnel travel, and filing false tax returns.
Schock, 35, resigned his seat last year as federal investigators dug into allegations of the lawmaker's questionable spending on air travel and office decor.
“These charges allege that Mr. Schock deliberately and repeatedly violated federal law, to his personal and financial advantage,'' said U.S. Attorney Jim Lewis, the chief federal prosecutor in Springfield, Ill. "Mr. Schock held public office at the time of the alleged offenses, but public office does not exempt him or anyone else from accountability for alleged intentional misuse of public funds and campaign funds.”
At a Peoria, Ill., news conference Thursday, Schock said he intends to "not only prove these allegations false, but in the process expose this investigation for what it was.''
"Neither I nor anyone else intentionally did anything wrong.'' the former lawmaker said. "As I have said before, we might have made errors among a few of the thousands and thousands of financial transactions we conducted, but they were honest mistakes — no one intended to break any law.''
Rep. Aaron Schock to resign amid spending scandal
But prosecutors asserted that from as early as 2008, when he was first elected to the House, and continuing until last year Schock submitted a series of fraudulent claims to both House and campaign accounts to cover a range of expenses "for his direct personal benefit and for the benefit of others.''
In tax filings for the years 2010 and 2015, Schock also allegedly failed to report additional income.
Schock's swift downfall began in February 2015 when The Washington Post chronicled the unusual renovation of his Capitol Hill office, which his staff said was modeled after the PBS television series Downton Abbey. Staffers told the Post that the interior designer had done the work for free.
The report prompted a wave of inquiries into the congressman's spending. USA TODAY disclosed that he had spent more than $100,000 on a prior office remodeling, including leather furniture and hardwood floors. Schock ultimately reimbursed taxpayers $35,000 for the Downton Abbey renovation.
Taxpayers pay thousands for Rep. Schock's renovations
Federal prosecutors referenced the renovations in court papers Thursday, detailing the congressman's hiring of an Illinois decorator to redo the congressional office at cost of about $40,000, including a $5,000 chandelier. He allegedly submitted false claims for reimbursement to a House account asserting that the claims represented "services to assist the member in setting up our district and DC offices.''
In 2014, Schock allegedly used $73,896 from one of his campaign committees to purchase a new Chevrolet sport utility vehicle for his personal use. The purchase was made after Schock allegedly arranged for the campaign to purchase the congressman's used, 2010 SUV for $31,621. The old vehicle was then traded in for a $26,000 used-car allowance, causing a loss to the campaign account.
The $73,896 payment was then recorded as campaign "transportation expense ... rather than the purchase of vehicle for Schock's exclusive use.''
"I am eager to finally defend my name and reputation in a court of law and move on with my life,'' Schock said. "I have learned a painful lesson in this investigation — our own government cannot be trusted. But the people can be trusted. And we will put my future — once again — in the hands of the good people of this community.''