Michigan Democrat Lawmaker charged with 3 felonies

The state Attorney General’s office has filed four criminal charges against state Rep. Brian Banks, D-Harper Woods, in relation to a $3,000 loan the state lawmaker took out in 2010 from a Detroit area credit union.

The state claims that Banks provided false information on a loan application about pay that he had received from a legal firm. The three felonies and one misdemeanor -- two counts of uttering and publishing the false information and two counts of using that false information to obtain a loan from the Detroit Metropolitan Credit Union -- carry penalties ranging from 1 year in jail to 14 years in prison.

Ben Gonek, an attorney for Banks, said the charges are both inappropriate and politically motivated because Banks is a representative who has opposed insurance legislation that financial contributors to Schuette support.