FRESNO - A 28-count indictment was unsealed today, charging Terrance John “TJ” Cox, 59, of Fresno, with 15 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, one count of financial institution fraud, and one count of campaign contribution fraud, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Cox perpetrated multiple fraud schemes targeting companies he was affiliated with and their clients and vendors. Cox created unauthorized off-the-books bank accounts and diverted client and company money into those accounts through false representations, pretenses, and promises. From 2013 to 2018, across two different fraud schemes, Cox illegally obtained over $1.7 million in diverted client payments, company loans, and investments he solicited and stole.
In addition, Cox received mortgage loan funds from a lender for a property purchase by submitting multiple false representations to the lender, including fabricated bank statements and false statements that Cox intended to live in the property as his primary residence. In fact, he intended to and did buy the property to rent it to someone else.
Cox also fraudulently obtained a $1.5 million construction loan to develop the recreation area in Fresno known as Granite Park. Cox and his business partner’s nonprofit could not qualify for the construction loan without a financially viable party guaranteeing the loan. Cox falsely represented that one of his affiliated companies would guarantee the loan and submitted a fabricated board resolution that falsely stated that at a meeting on a given date, all company owners agreed to guarantee the Granite Park loan. No meeting took place, and the other owners did not agree to back the loan. The loan later fell into default, causing a more than $1.28 million loss.
According to the indictment, when Cox was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2018 election, he perpetrated a scheme to fund and reimburse family members and associates for donations to his campaign. Cox arranged for over $25,000 in illegal straw or conduit donations to his campaign in 2017.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the IRS‑Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry Z. Carbajal III and Jeffrey A. Spivak are prosecuting the case.
C ox faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud and money laundering if convicted. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for wire fraud affecting a financial institution and financial institution fraud. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for campaign contribution fraud. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the court's discretion after considering any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
