Mueller team alleges Manafort 'bank fraud,' in new court filings

Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his legal team say they have uncovered additional “bank fraud” and other “criminal conduct” by Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign manager, according to court documents obtained by Fox News.

The allegations are part of negotiations between Mueller’s team and Manafort’s lawyers to allow their client to remain free on $10 million bail.

Manafort was indicted in October on federal charges of money laundering and failing to register as  a foreign agent, in connection with Mueller’s investigation for the Justice Department into whether President Trump or any of his campaign associates colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential elections.

The document signed Friday by Mueller’s team is in response to Manafort lawyers' continuing efforts to present a bail package -- essentially based on Manafort’s real estate holdings -- to keep their client out of confinement and allow him some freedom to leave his Northern Virginia residence.

“The proposed package is deficient in the government’s view, in light of additional criminal conduct that we have learned since the court’s initial bail determination,” Mueller’s team wrote. “That criminal conduct includes a series of bank frauds and bank fraud conspiracies, including criminal conduct relating to the mortgage on the Fairfax (Virginia) property, which Manafort seeks to pledge.”

Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after briefing the U.S. House Intelligence Committee on his investigation of potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 20, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein - RC12D3A49610

The document also states that the federal government has “substantial evidence” that Manafort secured that mortgage through a series of false and fraudulent representations to The Federal Savings Bank -- including “doctored profit and loss statements.”

The team said it would provide more evidence at Manafort’s next bail hearing -- “which the court may find relevant to the bail risk posed by Manafort.”

Manafort’s legal team did not respond to email requests Saturday for comment on the Mueller team allegations.

Lawyers and the defendants are under a gag order imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, limiting their out-of-court statements about the case, according to Politico.

The Mueller team’s overarching argument in the document appears to be that a bank or banks could foreclose on at least some of the properties in the package, which means that they could no longer be included in Manafort’s bail package.

“The Fairfax property is claimed by Manafort to have no mortgage. In fact, it was posted to secure a mortgage of over $9 million from The Federal Savings Bank,” the Mueller team also wrote. “It is misleading to claim the Fairfax property has no mortgage.”