Paul Pelosi Jr., the 55-year-old son of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), has avoided federal charges for the seventh time while two of his conmen associates are expected to be imprisoned over a money laundering scheme.
According to The Daily Mail, which obtained copies of documents related to the case, swindlers Bill Garlock and Gina Rodriguez are being charged with crimes by federal prosecutors in connection with a real estate fraud linked to a property owned by Pelosi Jr. The criminal pair have reportedly reached a plea deal and are set to receive their sentences on March 15th. Garlock pleaded guilty to all 15 counts and Rodriguez pleaded to two counts of mail fraud and conspiracy.
San Francisco prosecutors claim Garlock and Rodriguez fooled investors into giving them over $1 million for fake real estate ventures while pocketing the cash and spending it on rent, credit card bills, and even “horse-related expenses.” Horse races are an age-old hotbed for illegal gambling rings.
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The initial indictment of the fraudster duo accused them of scamming investors “by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and by means of concealment of material facts, including through the use of half-truths.” One of the properties involved in the fraud ring was a crumbling half-residential, half-commercial building in downtown San Francisco which subjected impoverished tenants to a degree of squalor so bad that it violated legal codes.
Pelosi’s seventh successful dodge of charges from federal cases he has been linked to has raised concerns among corruption analysts.
“The US Justice Department has a history of sheltering and protecting the family members of powerful political elites,” said Seamus Bruner, VP of Research of the Government Accountability Institute. “We’ve seen it time and again with the Clintons and the Bidens. There can be no question that a last name like Pelosi is going to carry weight among California-based prosecutors who want to advance their careers at the federal level.”
In 2022, a reporter from The Daily Mail revealed that Paul Pelosi Jr. was the owner of the house cited in an FBI investigation into a bribery scheme. Pelosi had signed papers declaring he was the property owner, “the party legally and financially responsible for this proposed construction activity,” and he had agreed to “abide by all applicable laws and requirements that govern Owner-Builders as well as employers.” He was discovered to have applied for the exact same permit for which inspector Bernie Curran and permit “expeditor” Rodrigo Santos were indicted and eventually imprisoned.
Santos had bribed Curran to look the other way as he and his clients continued to operate the property despite numerous violations. The documents seem to have indicated that Pelosi Jr. was one of the middlemen who bribed Curran—and Pelosi Jr. coincidentally was interviewed by feds over a hotel property in San Francisco owned by his ex-girlfriend Karena Apple Feng. (Curiously, Feng is currently running for Congress in California’s 9th district.)
In 2019, Feng sued Pelosi Jr. for allegedly conspiring to steal the property from her with a lawyer and a fraudulent realtor. The lawyer involved has since been convicted in a separate case. The defendants denied wrongdoing and the case was dismissed in 2020 “on technical grounds.”
It is unclear how Pelosi Jr. came to own the whole or part of the multi-million-dollar complex. His official story is that he only owned 20 percent of it.
At that time, Daily Mail also discovered Pelosi Jr. had been linked to five previous federal investigations into fraudulent activity, making the Santos-Curran case the sixth.
Now, with this most recent incident involving Garlock and Rodriguez, Pelosi Jr. has been linked to a total of seven (known) federal fraud cases—all without receiving a single charge.
The other five cases included:
- A biofuel company that defrauded investors leading to the conviction of the CEO on bribery charges. Pelosi had been a member of its board, but allegedly joined after the fraud scheme.
- An environmental investment firm that was revealed to be a front group for two convicted criminals. Pelosi served as president.
- A lithium mining company that engaged in a $164 million fraud scheme. Pelosi joined it and received millions of shares.
- A company that was investigated for scam calls that preyed on the elderly. Pelosi was Vice President.
- A fake UN charity group accused by the Justice Department of embezzling investor money. Pelosi had close ties with the founder.
- A medical company that tested drugs on people without FDA approval and was investigated by the FDA. Pelosi had worked for the company.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics, economics, and culture for Valuetainment. Follow Shane on X (Twitter).
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