Manafort's Former Son-in-Law Faces New Real-Estate Scam Charges

(Bloomberg) -- Paul Manafort’s former son-in-law ran a real estate scam while awaiting sentencing for a bank fraud to which he pleaded guilty, prosecutors said.

Jeffrey Yohai was arrested last week by Los Angeles police and is due in court for a bail hearing Wednesday, according to Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Yohai and Manafort’s daughter Jessica got a divorce last year.

According to a criminal complaint, Yohai tried to trick lenders into providing loans based on false and inflated property appraisals. He also arranged short-term rentals of a luxury home and pocketed the proceeds without paying the owner of the property.

An FBI agent who filed an affidavit in support of Yohai’s arrest also works with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Yohai falsely told victims of his fraud scheme that he has "turned state’s evidence" on Manafort, according to the FBI agent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Wollman at ewollman@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider, Heather Smith

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