Aaron Schock and federal prosecutors struck a deal Wednesday that will allow the former Republican congressman from Illinois to avoid prosecution for misusing taxpayer and campaign money.
The 37-year-old was charged in 2016 in a 24-count indictment alleging theft of government funds, wire fraud, mail fraud, making false statements, and filing false documents from 2008 to 2015. His trial was scheduled to start June 10, and he would have faced prison time if convicted.
Schock resigned from Congress in 2015 in a headline-making scandal sparked by images of his Capitol Hill office — he spent tens of thousands of dollars decorating it to look like one of the aristocratic homes in television’s “Downton Abbey.” Investigators soon discovered Schock had been funding a lavish lifestyle via campaign donors and government funds. The congressman — then the youngest in the House — had been considered a rising star of the Republican Party. His six-pack abs graced the cover of Men’s Health magazine. It later turned out he’d paid for workout videos with campaign money.
As part of the deal, Schock admitted that he failed to accurately report mileage and other expenses to his campaign and Congress, getting reimbursed for miles he did not drive, the Washington Post reported. He also conceded he resold sports tickets, including Super Bowl and World Series tickets, for profit and did not report an extra $42,000 in income on his taxes while he was a lawmaker.
Schock will pay back taxes to the IRS and reimburse his campaign $68,000. His campaign committee agreed to plead guilty to violating the record-keeping provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act.
Schock said the deal “validates this case should have never been started in the first place.”
“This case has dragged on for more than four years, and I am ready to put this behind me and move forward,” he said in a statement. “I have stated consistently and constantly that mistakes were made in the handling of my campaign and congressional offices, and I have acknowledged responsibility for that. But mistakes are not crimes.”
