A federal grand jury in Indianapolis on Tuesday indicted a City-County Council member and two associates linked to a foundation under investigation for more than two years on multiple counts of wire fraud and money laundering.
Paul C. Bateman Jr., a Democrat who is leaving his Northeastside council seat at the end of the year; Michael L. Russell, a founder of the Russell Foundation; and Manuel Gonzalez, who held various foundation positions, are accused in the indictment of defrauding an Indiana physician in his 70s of about $1.7 million.
Bateman was charged with eight counts of wire fraud and 10 counts of money laundering, Russell with eight counts of wire fraud and 12 counts of money laundering, and Gonzalez with three counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering.
Each count of wire fraud carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, and each count of money laundering up to 10 years in prison upon conviction, said Joe Vaughn, lead prosecutor on the case for the U.S. attorney’s office.
The indictments come in the wake of the federal conviction of a former City-County Council member, Lincoln Plowman, a Republican. Plowman was sentenced earlier this month in federal court in Indianapolis to 40 months in prison on his convictions for bribery and attempted extortion.
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