District of Columbia Councilmember Trayon White has been charged with bribery, based on an indictment filed in US District Court docket Monday. White, who represents Ward 8 within the District, was arrested by the FBI Sunday night.
The indictment claims that White accepted bribes from a confidential informant who agreed to cooperate with regulation enforcement after pleading responsible to taking out fraudulent loans by means of the Covid-era Paycheck Safety Program. White, the federal government alleges, accepted a sequence of bribes with the understanding that he would assist the informant’s firm, which had already been terminated by the town for falsifying background checks it agreed to carry out as a part of a contract.
The indictment alleges that White accepted a $20,000 bribe in 2020 and accepted journey to the Dominican Republic and to Las Vegas from the corporate to assist resolve the difficulty however was unsuccessful. This June, the federal government alleges, White accepted round $35,000 in money and agreed he would settle for round $156,000 to strain workers at DC’s Workplace of Neighborhood Security and Engagement and Division of Youth Rehabilitation Providers to increase the informant’s firms’ contracts with the town.
White chairs the District’s Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs, which oversees DYRS. White, the federal government alleges, agreed to a 3 % kickback on any contract the informant’s firm was in a position to safe. He additionally, the indictment says, requested for money up entrance.
White, the federal government alleges, accepted $15,000 on June 24, $5,000 on July 17, $10,000 on July 25, and $5,000 on August 9. The informant surreptitiously recorded the conversations and photographed White taking bribes, the federal government alleges. The indictment contains what the federal government alleges are pictures of White accepting bribes and transcripts of their conversations, in addition to screenshots of WhatsApp chats between White and the informant.
White has had a typically uncommon political profession. He made nationwide headlines in 2018 for asserting that Jewish financiers precipitated a snowfall. (He apologized.) The next 12 months he posted conspiracy theories in regards to the dying of rapper Nipsey Hussle. He promoted a protest the place Latino staff have been harassed (he apologized). This 12 months, he appeared at one other protest that featured homophobic indicators. He introduced a run for mayor in 2021 in a touch upon the Washingtonian Issues Instagram account. The marketing campaign was not profitable, and Washington Metropolis Paper reported in February that he had incurred practically $80,000 in money owed and fines associated to marketing campaign funds.
White’s legal professional has not but responded to a request for remark. You may learn the indictment beneath.
Trayon White Indictment by Washingtonian Journal on Scribd
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Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was beforehand with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington Metropolis Paper. He lives in Del Ray.