![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/debbie-wasserman-schultz-pakistani-computer-guys-bank-fraud.jpg\")
<\/a>Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Photo: Joshua Roberts)<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the Pakistani IT Scammers<\/h2>\n
Andrew C. McCarthy
\nNational Review<\/p>\n
There\u2019s more than bank fraud going on here.<\/em><\/h3>\nI<\/span>n Washington, it\u2019s never about what they tell you it\u2019s about. So take this to the bank: The case of Imran Awan, Debbie Wasserman Schultz\u2019s mysterious Pakistani IT guy, is not about bank fraud.<\/p>\nYet\u00a0bank fraud was the stated charge on which Awan was arrested at Dulles Airport this week, just as he was trying to flee the United States for Pakistan, via Qatar. That is the same route taken by Awan\u2019s wife, Hina Alvi, in March, when she suddenly fled the country, with three young daughters she yanked out of school, mega-luggage, and $12,400 in cash.<\/p>\n
As you let all that sink in, consider this: Awan and his family cabal of fraudsters had access for years to the e-mails and other electronic files of members of the House\u2019s Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees. It turns out they were accessing members\u2019 computers without their knowledge, transferring files to remote servers<\/a>, and stealing computer equipment \u2014 including hard drives that Awan & Co. smashed to bits of bytes before making tracks.<\/p>\nThey were fired in February. All except Awan, that is. He continued in the employ of Wasserman Schultz, the Florida Democrat, former DNC chairwoman, and Clinton crony. She kept him in place at the United States Congress right up until he was nabbed at the airport on Monday.<\/p>\n
At the time of his arrest, the 37-year-old Imran Awan had been working for Democrats as an information technologist for 13 years. He started out with Representative Gregory Meeks (D., N.Y.) in 2004. The next year, he landed on the staff of Wasserman Schultz, who had just been elected to the House.<\/p>\n
Congressional-staff salaries are modest, in the $40,000 range. For some reason, Awan was paid about four times as much. He also managed to get his wife, Alvi, on the House payroll\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0then his brother, Abid Awan\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0then Abid\u2019s wife, Natalia Sova. The youngest of the clan, Awan\u2019s brother Jamal, came on board in 2014 \u2014 the then-20-year-old commanding an annual salary of\u00a0$160,000.<\/p>\n
A few of these arrangements appear to have been sinecures: While some Awans were rarely seen around the office, we now know they were engaged in extensive financial shenanigans away from the Capitol. Nevertheless, the Daily Caller<\/em>\u2019s Luke Rosiak, who has been all over this story, reports<\/a> that, for their IT \u201cwork,\u201d the Pakistani family has reeled in $4 million from U.S. taxpayers since 2009.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s just the \u201clegit\u201d dough. The family business evidently dabbles in procurement fraud, too. The Capitol Police and FBI are exploring widespread double-billing for computers, other communication devices, and related equipment.<\/p>\n
Why were they paid so much for doing so little? Intriguing as it is, that\u2019s a side issue. A more pressing question is: Why were they given access to highly sensitive government information? Ordinarily, that requires a security clearance, awarded only after a background check that peruses ties to foreign countries, associations with unsavory characters, and vulnerability to blackmail.<\/p>\n
These characters could not possibly have qualified. Never mind access; it\u2019s hard to fathom how they retained their jobs. The Daily Caller<\/em> has also discovered<\/a> that the family, which controlled several properties, was involved in various suspicious mortgage transfers. Abid Awan, while working \u201cfull-time\u201d in Congress, ran a curious auto-retail business called \u201cCars International A\u201d (yes, CIA), through which he was accused of stealing money and merchandise. In 2012, he discharged debts in bankruptcy (while scheming to keep his real-estate holdings). Congressional Democrats hired Abid despite his drunk-driving conviction a month before he started at the House, and they retained him despite his public-drunkenness arrest a month after. Beyond that, he and Imran both committed sundry vehicular offenses. In civil lawsuits, they are accused of life-insurance fraud.<\/p>\nCongressional Democrats hired Abid despite his drunk-driving conviction a month before he started at the House, and they retained him despite his public-drunkenness arrest a month after.<\/p>\n
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Yet\u00a0bank fraud was the stated charge on which Awan was arrested at Dulles Airport this week, just as he was trying to flee the United States for Pakistan, via Qatar. That is the same route taken by Awan\u2019s wife, Hina Alvi, in March, when she suddenly fled the country, with three young daughters she yanked out of school, mega-luggage, and $12,400 in cash.<\/p>\n
As you let all that sink in, consider this: Awan and his family cabal of fraudsters had access for years to the e-mails and other electronic files of members of the House\u2019s Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees. It turns out they were accessing members\u2019 computers without their knowledge, transferring files to remote servers<\/a>, and stealing computer equipment \u2014 including hard drives that Awan & Co. smashed to bits of bytes before making tracks.<\/p>\n They were fired in February. All except Awan, that is. He continued in the employ of Wasserman Schultz, the Florida Democrat, former DNC chairwoman, and Clinton crony. She kept him in place at the United States Congress right up until he was nabbed at the airport on Monday.<\/p>\n At the time of his arrest, the 37-year-old Imran Awan had been working for Democrats as an information technologist for 13 years. He started out with Representative Gregory Meeks (D., N.Y.) in 2004. The next year, he landed on the staff of Wasserman Schultz, who had just been elected to the House.<\/p>\n Congressional-staff salaries are modest, in the $40,000 range. For some reason, Awan was paid about four times as much. He also managed to get his wife, Alvi, on the House payroll\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0then his brother, Abid Awan\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0then Abid\u2019s wife, Natalia Sova. The youngest of the clan, Awan\u2019s brother Jamal, came on board in 2014 \u2014 the then-20-year-old commanding an annual salary of\u00a0$160,000.<\/p>\n A few of these arrangements appear to have been sinecures: While some Awans were rarely seen around the office, we now know they were engaged in extensive financial shenanigans away from the Capitol. Nevertheless, the Daily Caller<\/em>\u2019s Luke Rosiak, who has been all over this story, reports<\/a> that, for their IT \u201cwork,\u201d the Pakistani family has reeled in $4 million from U.S. taxpayers since 2009.<\/p>\n That\u2019s just the \u201clegit\u201d dough. The family business evidently dabbles in procurement fraud, too. The Capitol Police and FBI are exploring widespread double-billing for computers, other communication devices, and related equipment.<\/p>\n Why were they paid so much for doing so little? Intriguing as it is, that\u2019s a side issue. A more pressing question is: Why were they given access to highly sensitive government information? Ordinarily, that requires a security clearance, awarded only after a background check that peruses ties to foreign countries, associations with unsavory characters, and vulnerability to blackmail.<\/p>\n These characters could not possibly have qualified. Never mind access; it\u2019s hard to fathom how they retained their jobs. The Daily Caller<\/em> has also discovered<\/a> that the family, which controlled several properties, was involved in various suspicious mortgage transfers. Abid Awan, while working \u201cfull-time\u201d in Congress, ran a curious auto-retail business called \u201cCars International A\u201d (yes, CIA), through which he was accused of stealing money and merchandise. In 2012, he discharged debts in bankruptcy (while scheming to keep his real-estate holdings). Congressional Democrats hired Abid despite his drunk-driving conviction a month before he started at the House, and they retained him despite his public-drunkenness arrest a month after. Beyond that, he and Imran both committed sundry vehicular offenses. In civil lawsuits, they are accused of life-insurance fraud.<\/p>\n Congressional Democrats hired Abid despite his drunk-driving conviction a month before he started at the House, and they retained him despite his public-drunkenness arrest a month after.<\/p>\n
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