Federal agents swooped down on at least 10 close associates of the reverend Al Sharpton early Wednesday morning. Teams of agents from the FBI and IRS descended on the homes of Sharpton’s aides and rousted them out of bed demanding Sharpton’s financial records dating back to 2001. Apparently the agents feel Sharpton is living too well for a reverend.
The FBI and IRS are investigating whether Sharpton improperly misstated the amount of money he raised during his 2004 White House run to illegally obtain federal matching funds, a source familiar with the probe said.Sharpton, although forced to return $100,000 in matching taxpayer funds after an investigation two years ago, denied any wrongdoing at the time.
The feds are also looking into allegations of tax fraud, including whether Sharpton commingled funds from his nonprofit National Action Network with several of his for-profit ventures, the source said.
Lawyer Michael Hardy shrugged off the probe, which sought a vast array of business, political and personal records, as a federal fishing expedition.
“I can’t think of a time when the Rev. Sharpton wasn’t under investigation,” he said.