Former Compton Assemblymember Carl Edward Washington was arrested Monday and charged with three counts of bank fraud and three counts of making a false statement to a federally-insured financial institution, including Famers & Merchants Bank.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), “Washington would obtain credit cards and loans from financial institutions that [he] used to purchase several thousand dollars worth of goods and services, [then] file a police report with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department falsely claiming to be the victim of identity theft […]. Washington would provide a copy of the bogus police report to Experian, one of the three major credit reporting agencies, and have them remove the credit cards and loans […].  Once Experian removed the items from Washington’s credit report, he would send out applications for new credit cards without disclosing to the banks his outstanding debts or the fact that he had information relating to those debts removed from his credit report.” Then Washington would begin the process again.

Edwards, who served in the State Assembly from 1996 to 2002 as the 52nd District representative, was employed with the Los Angeles County Probation Department at the time of his arrest. According to the FBI, the Probation Dept. assisted with Washington’s arrest.

Each of the six charges against Washington carries the potential of a 30-year sentence in federal prison.