Beck falsely claimed Robert Creamer "stole" $2 million from banks
Glenn Beck falsely claimed that progressive activist Robert Creamer "stole" $2 million from banks while serving as Executive Director of the Illinois Public Action Fund. In fact, Creamer was never accused of stealing any money and the judge in the case reportedly gave Creamer a lighter sentence because no one suffered any "out of pocket losses."
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Beck falsely claims Creamer "stole" $2 million "from the banks"
From the December 8 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:
GLENN BECK: America, our politicians are ignoring you. They're following a guy now in Washington, this guy, who's a felon. Convicted felon. He wrote it in prison.
[...]
BECK: Now David Axelrod calls the prison plan a blueprint for progressives. Forget the measly $2 million he stole from the banks. Please, banking fraud, who hasn't done a little $2 million theft? He's here to help now, help fraud America on one sixth of the economy.
Creamer did not steal any money - banks incurred no financial losses in case
Judge reportedly stated no one lost any money. Contrary to Beck's claim that Creamer "stole" $2 million from banks, U.S. District Judge James B. Moran reportedly gave Creamer a lighter sentence because no one suffered any "out of pocket losses." [CBS 2, 4/05/06]
From Chicago's CBS 2 article:
CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports the jail term could have been much worse but still came as a shock to the powerful couple.
Prosecutors had wanted a three-year sentence, but U.S. District Judge James B. Moran said five months was fairer because no one suffered "out of pocket losses" and Creamer acted not out of greed but in an effort to keep his community action group going without cutting programs.
Creamer: Banks didn't lose any money. Following his April 2005 guilty plea, Creamer reportedly said in a statement that "that "no bank ever did lose any money as a result of my conduct in 1997 or at any other time while I was at Illinois Public Action." [CBS 2, 8/31/05]
From the August 31 Chicago CBS 2 article:
Minutes after Creamer pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James B. Moran, he and his supporters took issue with what prosecutors said were significant sums of money lost by banks as a result of three complex, so-called check-kiting schemes he admitted that he had engineered.
Creamer said in a statement that "no bank ever did lose any money as a result of my conduct in 1997 or at any other time while I was at Illinois Public Action."
Creamer admitted in his 18-page signed plea agreement that he wrote checks on accounts that lacked sufficient funds to cover them. He was able to do this repeatedly because he moved money from one account to another in three banks in 1997, playing what bankers describe as the float and thus making them believe that the accounts had more money in them than they actually did.
When the three banks realized there was a problem and froze the accounts in May 1997, there was a positive balance in two of the accounts, according to the plea agreement. But it said that his account in Chicago's Cole Taylor Bank had a negative balance of $2.385 million.
At the time, there were $370,000 in insufficiently funded checks outstanding, the document said. Prosecutors said, however, that when Creamer is sentenced the $2.385 million figure will represent the amount of the fraud. They said it took months to pay off the negative balance.
The statement was made for the public benefit and was true (taking money that does not belong to you is generally considered by the public to be stealing); qualified/absolute privilege could potentially attach to the statement since Creamer's reputation is pertinent to important legislation - legislation that would ultimately violate the constitutional rights of every American if passed (so the statement might be considered governmentally immune..dunno); the comment was a fair one on a matter of public interest and based upon prior published reports.
All of that rebukes any legal claim to a defamation suit.
Let's disband the ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY right way then, shall we?
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It's like someone living in a septic tank complaining about the air filter in a mansion.
Wow he failed to pay $300,000 in taxes? hmmm? What a "Stand up Straight kinda guy"
"Robert B. Creamer, the husband of U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, was indicted today on federal charges of operating three check-kiting schemes that defrauded banks out of at least $2.3 million while he ran an Illinois public interest group.
Creamer, 56, of Evanston, was charged with 16 counts of bank fraud for allegedly swindling nine different financial institutions. He also was charged with 18 counts of tax fraud.
...In fact, the indictment alleged that Creamer 'knowingly utilized the fraudulently inflated balances created at Cole Taylor (Bank) to pay and attempt to pay his own personal salary and discretionary expenses.'
Creamer is also charged in the indictment with failing to pay more than $300,000 in federal income taxes for employees of the group and for himself between 1996 and 2000. Four other counts allege he filed false income tax returns between 1996 and 1999.
Each count of bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and $1 million fine. Each count of failing to collect and pay withholding taxes carries a penalty of five years, and each count of filing a false tax return carries a penalty of 3 years."
As a result of his crimes committed as executive director of Illinois Public Action Council, Robert Creamer ended up serving five months in federal prison and eleven months on house arrest.
People seem upset with the use of the word 'steal'. But, if you write bad checks, which is what Creamer did, what other word would you use?
Tax Evasion and Bank Fraud....Do you need a reminder of what FRAUD means???
fraud (frôd)n.
1. A deception deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain.
2. A piece of trickery; a trick.
a. One that defrauds; a cheat.
b. One who assumes a false pose; an impostor.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Seriously People, what planet do you live on? Creamer plead GUILTY.
Mr. Beck's little sweater should Forgive Mr.Cramer, it is Christmas after all.
Just what is a crook? I got it , a useless Democrat.
So Creamer was sent to jail for what reason? Looks to me he fraud ed 2.3 Million from someone.
since he did it for such a good cause of furthering "progressive" policy and marxism and for the fact that his wife is a good Liberal Dem we'll cut him a break.
He actually did nothing wrong..this was a big right-wing lie and smear, you see.
This is what I learned at re-education camp over the weekend.
Looks like the money was paid back, therefore, there may have been "fraud", but no bank was out any money.
following some of the logic here anyone who makes restitution gets a free pass...but maybe the cops were just 'acting stupidly'
Of course soon as THEY are vitims on crime then its 'damn the torpedoes full speed ahead'..
Media Matters does an injustice to us all when they play semantics in support of convicted criminals.
First, here's the FBI's report of his charges:
COLE TAYLOR BANK - VICTIM: On 03/10/2004, Robert B. Creamer was indicted in the Northern District of Illinois on 15 counts of Bank Fraud based on three independent check-kiting incidents occurring in 1993, 1996, and 1997, as well as 18 counts of Tax Evasion from 1996 to 2000. Creamer is the former Executive Director of the Illinois Public Action Fund, a not-for-profit public interest company that dealt with a variety of public issues. This case was jointly investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigations.
Secondly, how about you publish the paragraphs that precede and follow the one in the article you've cited:
It begins "Creamer, 58, ran a community group, paying himself a six-figure salary while leaving several banks holding the bag."
And continues:
"Creamer admitted in his 18-page signed plea agreement that he wrote checks on accounts that lacked sufficient funds to cover them. He was able to do this repeatedly because he moved money from one account to another in three banks in 1997, playing what bankers describe as the float and thus making them believe that the accounts had more money in them than they actually did."
"When the three banks realized there was a problem and froze the accounts in May 1997, there was a positive balance in two of the accounts, according to the plea agreement. But it said that his account in Chicago's Cole Taylor Bank had a negative balance of $2.385 million. "
"At the time, there were $370,000 in insufficiently funded checks outstanding, the document said. Prosecutors said, however, that when Creamer is sentenced the $2.385 million figure will represent the amount of the fraud. They said it took months to pay off the negative balance."
Did you catch that last sentence? Months to pay it off. $2.385 million represents the amount of the fraud - not $0. The man broke the law and cheated people out of money. When you take money that is not yours, it is stealing. End of story. How dare you even try to defend that. You call yourselves progressives?
Media Matters is really trying to discern between the word "stole" and "check-kiting".
He committed a crime but didn't get any money????.... Then he deserves to be on the Dumbest Criminals.
I can't believe their are people on here defending a criminal who wrote the playbook for this power-grab. If you want to see smearing.... watch Glenn Becks show from tonight (dec 10)... he'll show you smearing.
If someones going to reply and try to prove me wrong, watch the show and we can talk about it... otherwise don't bother.
http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fcbs2chicago.com%2Fseenon%2FRobert.Creamer.Jan.2.326652.html
It CLEARLY says that the guy was writing bad checks---WHICH IS STEALING!! Sure, his intentions may have been good, but THEFT IS THEFT. He may not have pocketed the money himself, but it is still STEALING.
Who can take MMFA seriously when just about every 'story' they have can be discredited by the stories they cite?
I quote: Creamer, 58, a prominent Chicago political consultant, was accused of swindling nine financial institutions of at least $2.3 million while he ran a public interest group in the 1990s.
Creamer told reporters Wednesday there was "no doubt that my actions a decade ago were very foolish and placed myself, my family, the organization and many of those who worked with me at considerable risk."
He offered a "sincere apology to anyone who has been affected by my conduct."
The indictment alleged Creamer caused a series of insufficiently funded checks and wire transfers to be drawn on accounts he controlled as executive director of the Illinois Public Action Fund. According to the indictment, he allegedly then used the inflated balances to pay the group's expenses and own salary.
Creamer pleaded guilty to one count each of bank fraud and failure to collect withholding tax. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped several other counts.
Story Source: Link
By the way, he was convicted after pleading GUILTY.