Judge Freezes Assets Of Louisiana Congressman Charged With Soliciting Bribes

Thursday, June 7th 2007, 5:47 pm

By: News On 6

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) _ A federal judge Thursday froze the assets of Rep. William Jefferson, the Louisiana Democrat indicted this week on charges of soliciting bribes, almost two years after raids uncovered cash stuffed in his freezer.

A forfeiture charge is among the 16 criminal counts Jefferson is facing. Prosecutors have already said they will seek to recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars from Jefferson that they believe he obtained illicitly by peddling his influence to help broker business deals in Africa.

Jefferson is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court. The indictment, issued Monday, said Jefferson received more than $500,000 in bribes and sought millions more in separate schemes to enrich himself.

The charges come after investigators in August 2005 found $90,000 in cash in a freezer in Jefferson's home in Washington. Jefferson maintained his innocence but resigned from the Small Business Committee.

The restraining order issued Thursday by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III lists two savings accounts with Dryades Savings Bank and Chevy Chase Bank with a combined value of more than $470,000, plus certain stock holdings that Jefferson is barred from liquidating.

Nearly all the cash is in an account belonging to The ANJ Group LLC. The indictment says it is a Louisiana company established in 2001 and controlled by Jefferson's family.

A second, smaller account is under the name W2-IBBS, Limited, which according to the indictment was established in Nigeria and controlled by the informant whose complaints about Jefferson sparked the investigation.

The indictment states that Jefferson demanded an ever larger share of that company _ first 5 percent and then finally a 30 percent stake _ in exchange for his help brokering a telecommunications deal.

The order also freezes other unspecified accounts controlled by U.S. financial institutions.

A spokeswoman for Jefferson's lawyer, Robert Trout, said the judge's order is being reviewed, and he declined to comment further