SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Diya TV) — The United States Attorney’s Office said it will seek a prison sentence for the embattled father of California Congressman Ami Bera, who has been accused of committing campaign finance fraud. Babulal Bera will be sentenced on Aug. 18.
According to the pre-sentencing investigative report, the government is recommending a sentence of non-custodial probation and a fine of $100,000 for the 83-year-old. The report, written by a probation officer, cited Bera’s advanced age and “family obligations,” in recommending a lighter sentence.
However, in a rebuttal to the pre-sentencing report, U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert and Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Ferrari write the proposed sentence is too lenient. “It is unsupported by the facts of this case and the serious nature of the defendant’s offense,” the prosecution tandem opined.
They further argued that the laws which Bera violated mandate a sentence of no more than five years in prison. In accordance with federal prosecuting standards, however, an elderly man such as Bera would face 46 to 57 months in prison. The prosecutors said they would not object to a sentence below the minimum term — “Consistent with its obligations under the plea agreement, (the government) will be recommending that the Court impose a sentence that is below the appropriately calculated advisory guideline range,” their report read.
Edward Loya, who is serving as Bera’s attorney in the case, would not provide Diya TV with comment on the matter.
Last May, the elder Bera pleaded guilty to two counts of violating campaign finance laws by funneling cash contributions to his son’s congressional campaign using straw donors.
According to court documents, after making the maximum-allowed donation of $2,400 himself to his son’s first congressional campaign in 2009, he then began soliciting the donations of friends and family members in the same figure. However, he promised said friends and family that if they made the donations, he would repay the sums with his own money.
The court documents reveal at least 130 improper campaign contributions from 90 separate donors, all of which occurred during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles.
More than $250,000 was raised for Bera’s political campaigns in such a manner, the documents said, and explained that “Person 1” received a call from Babulal Bera asking him to contribute to his son’s congressional campaign. “Person 1” explained that while he wanted to contribute, he and his wife could not afford to do so. Babulal Bera told “Person 1” that he would give him the money to contribute, and then sent a check for the maximum donation — drawn on his personal accounts — to “Person 1” to make the maximum contribution allowed, according to the court documents.
In a statement from the Democratic Congressman who is currently seeking his third term in the House of Representatives, Ami Bera said: I am incredibly saddened and disappointed in learning what my dad did. While I deeply love my father, it’s clear he has made a grave mistake that will have real consequences for him.”
He added that $268,000 has been paid back to the U.S. Treasury Department, in accordance with the laws.
He said he was not aware of his father’s doing. His opponent in November’s general election, Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones, challenged the idea, saying if Bera truly had no clue what was happening, it only speaks to his lack of attention for detail.
