Chaka Fattah Jr. Sentenced to Five Years, Taken Into Custody

The congressman's son begins prison sentence immediately.

Chaka Fattah Jr., son of Philly’s longtime congressman, was sentenced to five years in prison today for his conviction on tax and bank fraud charges.

Fattah, who had served as his own attorney throughout the trial that led to his conviction, was immediately taken into custody to begin serving his sentence. Congressman Chaka Fattah was on reportedly hand for the sentencing.

The younger Fattah — known as “Chip” — was found guilty in November on 22 of 23 counts against him. He had been charged with a variety of offenses, including filing false income tax returns, stealing from the School District of Philadelphia, making false statements to banks in order to obtain loans, and failing to pay federal taxes. Prior to the indictment, he had been under investigation for two years.

Prosecutors accused Fattah Jr. of falsely obtaining business loans and using that money to buy jewelry, clothing, and electronics and to make car payments and pay off his gambling debts. He was accused of using the majority of one $50,000 loan from United Bank to cover debts at area casinos; he once wrote a $17,500 check from a business account to cover his losses at Sugarhouse.

Fattah Jr. filed false income tax returns for several years and stole funds that were to be used for Philly schools.

Despite the convictions, Fattah never wavered in his public belief that he’d avoid a prison sentence, and that he would win the case on appeal. “I feel good about my chances in the future,” he told NewsWorks.

In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Harvey Bartle III ordered restitution in the amount of $1,172,175, five years of supervised release, and a $2,125 special assessment.

His father, the congressman, is charged with racketeering in an unrelated case. His stepmother, NBC10 anchor Renee Chenault-Fattah, is currently on leave.

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