The top aide to the longest-serving member of Congress pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for receiving $13,000 in stolen property.
A man mistakenly deposited $500 into the savings account of Cynthia Martin, chief of staff to Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., twice a month for two and a half years for a total of $16,500, according to a report by NBC4 in Washington. Investigators say the customer used the wrong account number every time he submitted a deposit, but didn’t realize until years later.
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When the Wright Patman Congressional Federal Credit Union discovered the error and asked Martin to return the funds, she paid back only $3,500, putting the depositor out of $13,000.
Instead, Martin began transferring money from that savings account to one at an unrelated bank. Court filings show Martin was aware that the credit union said it wouldn’t reimburse the victim, which is why she refused to hand over the remaining $13,000 she received.
Prosecutors took action as a result of her not cooperating. She pleaded guilty on Thursday and was ordered to pay an undisclosed amount of restitution, according to documents made available Wednesday.
Martin will appear in D.C. Superior Court in September for an update on her restitution payments.
