Black Caucus chair allegedly part of credit card scheme
Of the St. Louis American
While state Rep. John Bowman is facing a fraud charge in connection with an alleged scam involving a former Bank of America executive and 15 other people, there has not been a call for him to step down as chair of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus.
In fact, state Sen. Maida Coleman said he should keep all of his leadership roles.
“I would not like to see him give up any position he holds at this point,” she said.
“Our only interest is for him and his family. They need our prayers.”
Coleman said that Bowman is innocent until proven guilty and any speculation on his political future is premature.
Bowman has not publicly commented on his indictment, but he and other defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, Feb. 5. The American has attempted to reach him for comment, but calls were not returned.
The fraud charge filed by U.S. Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway, a former state Republican House majority leader, alleges that former Bank of America Vice President Robert Conner recruited Bowman and other defendants as borrowers in a $1.2 million bank fraud and credit card fraud scheme.
According to the indictment, between June 2005 and November 2006 Conner provided the 16 co-defendants an opportunity to submit false applications for small business lines of credit with Bank of America.
The lines of credit were in the form of credit cards. In exchange for approving the fraudulent credit-line application, Conner demanded a cash kickback payment of $2,500 to $5,000 from each applicant.
After the fraudulent credit applications were approved by Conner, he had the credit cards sent directly to him rather than to the applicants to facilitate his receipt of cash kickbacks at the time he provided the card to the applicants.
The indictment states that the first transaction on the fraudulent credit cards was often a cash advance. That money allegedly went to Conner as a kickback.
Borrowers allegedly applied for credit lines in the names of various business entities, many of which did not exist as legitimate businesses. In Bowman’s case, Bowman’s Consulting received the credit.
The applications contained fraudulent information such as the business entity name, its status as a legitimate business and the amount of time the business had been in operation; the annual income of the applicant; and the gross annual revenue of the entity listed on the application. Conner allegedly knew the borrowers were not personally credit-worthy at the time the false credit applications were submitted.
In an unrelated article in The Political Eye in December, the American reported that Bowman’s Consulting was filed as a business by Bowman with the Secretary of State’s office on April 7, 2006.
The Missouri Democratic State Committee contracted with the consulting firm, and its federal campaign account paid to Bowman’s Consulting $10,580 on Sept. 1, and $6,000 on Sept. 14, Oct. 2, Oct. 16, Oct. 31, Nov. 15 and Nov. 16.
“Rather than assisting fledgling small businesses with lines of credit, Conner is accused of taking advantage of a well-intended program to line his own pockets,” said Hanaway.
Coleman said of Bowman’s indictment, “Based on what little we know about the case, we can hope that (Hanaway) is strictly doing her job and not dabbling in partisan politics.”
The 37-count indictment was returned Thursday, January 25, but remained sealed until Monday to facilitate the arrest of defendants. They are expected to appear in federal court Monday, February 5, before United States Magistrate Thomas C. Mummert.
Indicted with Conner and Bowman are:
? Robert Baker, St. Louis
? William Hart, St. Louis
? DeAmon White, St. Louis
? Gerald Maurice Rankin, St. Louis
? Monica Gholson, St. Louis
? Jacqueline Green, St. Louis
? Jerry Brown, St. Louis
? Ulas Green, St. Louis
? Joanna Davis, St. Louis
? Glenda Chambers, St. Louis
? Lois Gholson, St. Louis
? Regina Davidson, St. Louis
? Ronald Mason, St. Louis
? Karl Peters, Royal Oaks, Ill.
? Max Davis, St. Louis.
Conner is charged in every count of the indictment. Every other defendant is charged with one felony count of bank fraud and one felony count of credit card fraud.
If convicted, each bank fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and/or fines up to $1 million; each credit card fraud count carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.
Four other people, including a former Pine Lawn police officer and a Wentzville doctor, have previously pled guilty to related charges and await sentencing.
