Banker Stephen Calk, Who Arranged Loan For Paul Manafort, Found Guilty In Bribery Scheme

Stephen Calk, a Chicago banker who approved loans of $16 million for ex-Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, was convicted Tuesday on bribery charges.

Calk was found guilty on two felony counts after a trial that lasted three weeks in federal court, according to the statement that the U.S. Attorney’s Office released.

The jury has found out that Calk granted $16 million of unsafe loans to Paul Manafort in return for a position in the Trump administration.

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss praised the jury’s verdict and claimed that this could restrain the further wrongdoings of other bankers.

“Calk used the federally-insured bank he ran as his personal piggy bank to try and buy himself prestige and power,” Strauss said in a statement. “Today’s verdict sends the message that corruption at the highest levels of federally regulated financial institutions will be prosecuted by this Office.”

Manafort was sentenced to prison for bank and mortgage fraud in 2019. He was later pardoned by Trump at the end of his term.

Article by Dongyoon Shin