OAKLAND — Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a former Antioch police officer on bank fraud charges that add to an existing steroid trafficking case against him that has been pending for greater than a yr, records show.
Daniel James Harris was charged Friday with bank fraud, a federal offense that carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, however it's doubtful he'll actually get anywhere near that much time if convicted.
The indictment says Harris hatched a “material plan” to “defraud a financial institution” in February 2022, just weeks before the FBI and Contra Costa prosecutors conducted a series of raids on several former East Contra Costa law enforcement officials.
The latest charging document doesn’t say how much money Harris allegedly obtained through fraud or provide some other details. Harris was one in all 14 former Antioch and Pittsburgh law enforcement officials charged last yr as a part of a corruption investigation. Until Friday, he faced just one charge, accusing him and fellow Antioch police officer Devon Wenger of distributing steroids to others.
Ironically, the brand new case marks the start of the tip of the fees against Harris. In court documents, prosecutors said that they had reached a “proposed resolution” that will require Harris to plead guilty to no less than one federal offense to resolve each cases. Details of the resolution weren’t disclosed.
Harris has been free for the reason that charges were filed in August 2023. Other people arrested as a part of the investigation have faced much more serious charges, including obstruction of a wiretap, an try and defraud each cities by obtaining incentive bonuses through college degree fraud, and a case by which three Antioch law enforcement officials, including Wenger, are accused of conspiring to attack people in the middle of their jobs.
Wenger's lawyers have filed a lawsuit difficult the legality of a search warrant for Wenger's phone, arguing that Wenger obtained the steroids legally.
Harris is scheduled to seem in court on September 17.
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