A former House Democratic IT staffer associated with ex-Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was sentenced Tuesday to three months of supervised release along with time served after he pleaded guilty last month to lying on a bank loan application.
During Imran Awan’s sentencing hearing in D.C., U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan condemned the “unbelievable onslaught of scurrilous media attacks” and “baseless accusations” that were “lobbed at [Awan] from the highest branches of government,” according to CNN. Chutkan added that Awan had “suffered sufficiently” and “has paid a price that he will continue to pay.”
Awan, along with his wife Hina Alvi, were indicted by the federal district court in August 2017 for “conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, making false statements on a loan or credit application, and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.” Awan pleaded guilty in July to one court of bank loan application fraud.
Awan was arrested in July 2017 after he was intercepted at Washington’s Dulles International Airport by members of the FBI, U.S. Capitol Police, and Customs and Border Protection over his alleged involvement in “double charging” for House Democratic IT equipment and possibly exposing private information online. Alvi voluntarily returned to the U.S. following an earlier flight to Pakistan.
The law enforcement agencies had been investigating Awan and Alvi over discrepancies regarding computer equipment bought when the pair were employed as staffers for numerous House Democrats. A probe then found more than tens of thousands of dollars in IT equipment had been stolen.
Right-of-center media outlets and President Trump speculated that Pakistani-born Awan and Alvi, as well as other people related to the inquiries, could have been involved in data breaches suffered by House Democratic lawmakers during the time of their respective tenures. Those accusations were dismissed in the plea agreement reached with Awan in July.
Awan said Tuesday he bore no grudges from the intense media scrutiny he experienced.
“What those people did and all the stories they wrote, I forgive them for what they did,” he said, according to CNN. “I’m grateful to be here in this country and whatever it has given me. There’s so much goodness here, and that should not get overshadowed.”
Awan’s lawyer Christopher Gowen told the news outlet his client might seek a new start in Silicon Valley, Calif.
Wasserman Schultz received bipartisan criticism for her decision not to fire Awan, a part-time employee, until his arrest was made public last year.
