Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert Indicted [View all]
Former Speaker of the House John Dennis Hastert was charged Thursday with attempting to evade banks' reporting requirements and lying to the FBI about his actions.
He was charged with structuring a cash withdrawal of $952,000 so as to get around the rule that banks must report such transactions over $10,000. The charges also allege that he lied to the FBI about his actions.
Hastert, a Republican who served as a congressman for Illinois, was the Speaker of the House from 1999 to 2007.
The indictment against him alleges that Hastert agree in 2010 to provide someone with $3.5 million in order to "compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct" against that individual. He then allegedly withdrew about $1.7 million in cash from different accounts between 2010 and 2014 in order to provide the money to that person.
The person to whom Hastert was doling out payments "has been a resident of Yorkville, Illinois" and has known the former Speaker for most of his or her life, according to the indictment. Additionally, it says, that individual spoke with Hastert in 2010 about "past misconduct" that had occurred "years earlier."
Each count carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney in Chicago.
Hastert resigned from his post on the CME Group's board, according to CME.
The indictment notes Hastert has acted as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. from about 2008 to the present.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102695146
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