[legion]

It always amazes me how many friends of Dailey and Blagoyevich can go to prison, yet they never seem to know what's going on...

Woman with business ties to governor's wife charged with fraud

Associated Press
Published March 8, 2007, 1:37 PM CST

CHICAGO -- A woman with business connections to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's wife faces six felony charges stemming from alleged billing fraud for work her company conducted for a state agency through no-bid contracts.

Anita Mahajan, 55, of Chicago, owned the now-defunct K.K. Bio-Science Inc. It was a urinalysis company that performed drug testing for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services since at least the mid-1990s, according to state records.

Mahajan was charged with theft, money laundering, wire fraud and making a false statement on a vendor application, said Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman in the state's attorney's office.

Mahajan also was accused of organizing a continuing financial crimes enterprise, Simonton said. Two of the charges are Class X felonies, Simonton said, meaning that probation is not a sentencing option.

Mahajan, who surrendered to authorities Wednesday, was scheduled to appear in Cook County bond court on Thursday afternoon.

The governor's wife has ties to Mahajan. Patti Blagojevich, a licensed real estate broker, earned $113,700 in commissions in 2006 through deals involving Mahajan and her banker husband, Amrish Mahajan. He has donated $10,000 to the governor's political campaigns.

There is no indication that the real estate deals with Patti Blagojevich are related to Anita Mahajan's charges.

Mahajan's attorney did not immediately return a call for comment.

The Blagojevich administration has defended the governor's wife, saying she has no control over state contracts and has a right to conduct her private real estate business.

Mahajan's company has held annual contracts for urinalysis screenings with clients of the DCFS for at least the past 15 years. The company ended its contract with DCFS on Jan. 9 during a review by the agency's inspector general.

"Our inspector generals that we put in place, laws that we passed police the system," Blagojevich said Thursday during an appearance at a Chicago school to draw attention to his proposed education spending plan.

Department of Children and Family Services spokesman Kendall Marlowe said Thursday that "the system is working the way it should," because the agency's inspector general uncovered the issue.

"We're pleased that this case is moving forward," he added. "The department remains committed to seeking full restitution on behalf of Illinois taxpayers."

According to a search warrant first reported by the Chicago Tribune on Feb. 1, investigators from the FBI and Cook County searched the office of K.K. Bio-Science Inc. for evidence of fraud, money laundering and a continuing criminal enterprise.