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(A7) Federal prosecutors on Tuesday unveiled a superseding indictment against Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) which alleges he accepted race car tickets and other gifts from Qatar as part of a yearslong corruption scheme, CNN reported.
Prosecutors also allege Menendez’s bribery and extortion scheme continued into 2023, a year longer than initially alleged, according to the report.
Among the new allegations, according to the indictment, is that Menendez accepted payments from one of his co-conspirators, New Jersey real estate developer Fred Daibes, in exchange for using his influence to help Daibes obtain millions of dollars from an investment fund tied to Qatar. The senator, prosecutors allege, additionally took steps to help Qatar.
Menendez already faced three counts in connection to the alleged bribery scheme. Prosecutors accuse the New Jersey Democrat of using his political power to aid the government of Egypt and pressure state and federal prosecutors investigating New Jersey businessmen.
Menendez, his wife Nadine Menendez, Daibes and two other New Jersey businessmen all pleaded not guilty to the charges in the original indictment.
The latest indictment alleges Menendez introduced Daibes, who was seeking an investment, to a member of the Qatari royal family and principal of the Qatari Investment Company, according to CNN.
While the Qatari investment fund was weighing an investment, Menendez made multiple public statements supporting the government of Qatar, according to the indictment.
“Menendez provided Daibes with these statements so that Daibes could share them with the Qatari Investor and a Qatari government officials associated with the Qatari Investment Company,” prosecutors allege.
Prosecutors say Menendez did not note on his financial disclosure forms the gifts from Qatar and Daibes, which included gold bars and race tickets.
The New Jersey Democrat was previously charged by federal prosecutors from the US attorney’s office in New Jersey in 2015 with conspiracy, bribery, and honest services fraud relating to allegedly abusing the power of his office.
The trial ended in a mistrial in November 2017 after the jury reported it was deadlocked.
