Former congressman T.J. Cox appears in federal court as felony fraud trial looms

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Former Valley congressman T.J. Cox appeared in federal court in downtown Fresno Wednesday afternoon. He was expected to change his plea, but walked out with a trial date for now.

In 2022, Cox was indicted on 28 total felony charges: 15 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, one count of financial institution fraud on a mortgage, and one count of making illegal contributions to his congressional campaign in 2017.

"Our hope is that we will be able to negotiate a fair resolution in this case, we just need more time," said Mark Coleman, defense attorney for Cox.

The judge set a status hearing for December 11 but Coleman said he hopes to strike a deal for his client before then.

"Mr. Cox feels the weight of this. Mr. Cox has done good for this community, his district and state. The specter of this, the allegations are weighing heavy on his family," said Coleman.

So far, Cox has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

"Well, the issue in a kind of case like this comes down to what is the loss, how much money was involved, and what was the intended loss to the victims in this case," said ABC30 legal analyst Tony Capozzi.

Cappozi said if convicted, Cox is probably only looking at serving 2 to 5 years, but a plea agreement does appear to be on the horizon.

"They should be preparing for trial in December. Putting their witnesses together to show that there was no fraud in this particular case. In the meantime they'll be working with the Government to try to resolve how this case can be put to an end," said Capozzi.