Stephen Calk, 54 year old chairman of a Chicago bank, has been indicted on a single charge of financial institution bribery in Manhattan, the New York Times reports. He is accused of giving Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign chair who is serving a prison term for bank and tax fraud, high risk loans of $16 million in exchange for a high ranking position in the Trump administration.
According to the indictment, unsealed today, Calk gave Manafort a list of his preferred positions, which included top positions at the US Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Defense, and ambassadorships to the UK, France, Italy, and Germany, among others, NBC News reports.
Mr. Calk surrendered to authorities Thursday morning and is expected to be in US District court later today.
Calk was appointed to Trump’s economic advisory board in August 2016, just days after approving a $9.5 million home loan for Paul Manafort which was needed for Manafort to avoid foreclosure. While Calk ultimately was not hired for any of the positions he requested, due to Manafort’s influence he was interviewed for the job of Under Secretary of the Army, while $6 million in loans to Manafort were pending approval.
Federal Savings Bank, of which Calk is CEO, took a multi-million dollar loss after Manafort defaulted on the loans, according to CNN. Later, Calk allegedly lied to investigators, telling them he had not sought a position in the Trump administration.
Calk’s case was highlighted during the Paul Manafort trial last summer, with Greg Andres, prosecutor on the Mueller team, calling Calk a co-conspirator with Manafort and a senior vice president from Federal Savings Band testifying about Calk pushing the loans.
He faces a maximum of 30 years, but would likely serve less if convicted, according to the New York Times.
