{"id":79723,"date":"2017-08-03T07:10:05","date_gmt":"2017-08-03T11:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=79723"},"modified":"2017-08-03T07:22:57","modified_gmt":"2017-08-03T11:22:57","slug":"wasserman-schultz-aide-in-pakistan-still-liquidating-assets-in-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=79723","title":{"rendered":"Wasserman Schultz Aide In Pakistan Still Liquidating Assets In US"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Abid Awan, a House IT technician suspected in a security breach, leaves court after separately being accused of insurance fraud. DCNF photo<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

LUKE ROSIAK
\nInvestigative Reporter
\nThe daily Caller<\/p>\n

Imran Awan, a congressional aide arrested by the FBI after wiring $300,000 to Pakistan and misrepresenting the purpose, had previously wired money to the country and was frantically liquidating multiple real estate properties\u00a0on the day he was arrested, The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group has learned.<\/p>\n

Imran\u2019s real estate properties provide a source of money that could be sent directly\u00a0to Pakistan when two upcoming home sales\u00a0close. Prosecutors have since filed paperwork saying they fear \u201cthe dissipation of the proceeds of the fraud and destruction of evidence in other locations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imran\u00a0was arrested July 24 \u2014 four months after the FBI says his wife Hina Alvi moved to Pakistan after learning the family\u00a0was the subject of a criminal investigation into their\u00a0work as IT administrators\u00a0for House Democrats. On the day of Imran\u2019s arrest, the couple\u00a0accepted a buyer for one house owned by Hina with an asking price of\u00a0$618,000 (Hawkshead Dr.)<\/a>\u00a0and listed another property for sale at\u00a0$200,000 (Pembrook Village)<\/a>, real estate records show.<\/p>\n

On June 20, a third house his wife owned\u00a0was \u201csold\u201d to his brother-in-law for\u00a0$360,000 (Sprayer St.)<\/a>. In November 2016, a fourth home his wife owned\u00a0was \u201csold\u201d to his brother Jamal for $620,000 (Linnett Hill Dr.). In both cases, the bank financed\u00a0nearly all of the purchase.<\/p>\n

Home sales could\u00a0be a vehicle to continue moving large amounts of money to Pakistan even after Imran\u2019s arrest. Authorities released him with a\u00a0GPS monitor and confiscated his passport.<\/p>\n

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Soon after Imran began working as an IT aide for Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, various House Democrats added his wife Hina, his brothers Abid and Jamal, Abid\u2019s wife Natalia Sova, and two friends to their payrolls. But just as real estate transactions appeared to use relatives as stand-ins, there are reasons to believe not all of them\u00a0were actually showing up for work.<\/p>\n

During their time supposedly working on the Hill, one in the group was running a car dealership. Another worked at\u00a0McDonald\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0until he was fired, at which point he sat home all day, his housemate told TheDCNF. A third of the IT troop was a 20-year old college student, and multiple members of the group spent months at a time in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

Most of the\u00a0group were paid salaries far higher than the norm for House IT staffers. They collected\u00a0$4 million<\/a>\u00a0since 2009 \u2014 money that seemed to disappear with no sign of lavishness in their lifestyles, a six-month investigation by TheDCNF found.<\/p>\n

Capitol Police informed congressmen that the\u00a0family was the target of a criminal investigation Feb. 2. Days prior, Imran wired nearly $300,000 to Pakistan and told the bank manager over the phone to wait as he googled what excuse to give him for the transfer \u2014 all while pretending to be his wife, according to an\u00a0FBI affidavit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A neighbor told TheDCNF\u00a0the couple abruptly moved their possessions hurriedly out of their home in February, and the FBI later confiscated\u00a0hard drives<\/a>\u00a0Imran had left\u00a0in the garage. Hina moved to Pakistan March 5 with her children. Authorities stopped her at the airport and found $12,000 cash in her suitcase, but they did not prevent\u00a0her from boarding.<\/p>\n

Title companies can\u00a0wire large sums abroad\u00a0without attracting the\u00a0suspicion Imran did at the bank, and with Hina \u2014 the nominal sole owner of each\u00a0of the houses \u2014 residing in that country, it would be natural to send the proceeds\u00a0to her.<\/p>\n

In addition to the three houses sold or slated to be sold since June 20, Imran\u2019s lawyer, Chris Gowen, told The\u00a0New York Times<\/a>\u00a0that the $283,000 wire in January was preceded by other similar transfers to Pakistan. \u201cGowen said the transfer represented the latest payment by his client for a piece of property he was buying in the country,\u201d The Times reported.
\nWATCH:<\/strong>
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