Senator Bob Menendez’s new wife has cashed in up to $400,000 in gold bars — despite facing foreclosure just three years earlier.
The sale, last spring, was months before his office publicly acknowledged that the New Jersey Democrat was facing a new federal investigation.
Nadine Arslanian, 56, sold the gold between April 7, 2022 and June 16, 2022, according to the senator’s annual public disclosure. It is equivalent to as much as 13 pounds of pure gold.
The sale is a remarkable financial turnaround for Arslanian, who reportedly struggled financially, even facing foreclosure, before she married Menendez in 2020.
Senator Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine Arslanian arrived at the White House in May for a reception. The couple is under investigation for allegedly receiving lavish gifts.Getty Images
New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez and his new wife, Nadine Arslanian, are the focus of an FBI investigation into whether they received gifts. AFP via Getty Images
Arslanian is now seen regularly with Menendez in New Jersey, including at an event at Montclair State University in April honoring Hillary Clinton.Montclair State University
But the couple now find themselves at the center of an FBI investigation, which began within months of their relationship beginning.
Manhattan federal prosecutors want to know whether the senator or his wife received unreported lavish gifts, including a car and Washington apartment, in return for political favors, according to reports.
The investigation is the second time the senator has been investigated by federal authorities over alleged corruption. A long-running New Jersey state investigation ended in 2011 with no charges filed.
Menendez, 69, was charged in 2015 after prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Unit accused him of accepting lavish bribes from Palm Beach ophthalmologist and political philanthropist Dr. Salomon Melgen.
Senator Menendez filed his 2022 financial disclosure in June, showing gold transactions made by his wife.senate.gov
Nadine Arslanian cashed in up to $400,000 in gold bars last year.Shutterstock
Among the allegations is that the senator ordered his staff to obtain visas for Melgen’s girlfriend, who is from Brazil, Ukraine, and the Dominican Republic.
The corruption case against the Garden State Senator who was first elected in 2006 ended in a mistrial two years later, after 12 jurors said it deadlocked.
Federal prosecutors withdrew the charges in 2017 ahead of a retrial, after the Supreme Court narrowed the definition of public corruption.
The following December, she met Arslanian at an IHOP in Union City, where he was mayor, beginning a whirlwind romance, the couple told the New York Times’ “Vows” column.
Salomon Melgen is a donor and friend of Menendez accused of taking lavish gifts from, in return for favors that included visas for his girlfriend.Getty Images
Senator Menendez ordered six people in his Senate office to obtain visas for the girlfriend of his former benefactor, Salomon Melgen. Among them is Ukrainian actress and model Svitlana Buchyk.PAUL COBO
They were introduced over pancakes, and, says Arslanian, “She’s very smart and has a great sense of humor, and she’s very, very hot.”
Over the next five months, they toured four continents, and in October, he was her partner in a Congressional delegation tour of India.
Menendez, a divorcee, arranged the elaborate proposal: As Arslanian sat in front of the Taj Mahal, on what he said was the same seat used by Princess Diana during her wedding on the rock in 1992, he sang “Never Enough” from the movie 2017’s “The Greatest Showman,” and dropped to one knee with a ring.
Her fiance, however, is reportedly struggling with financial problems, the New York Times reported. In 2014, after having trouble paying the $1,897 monthly mortgage on the Bergen County home she now shares with Menendez, she enrolled in a federal program to help her manage her costs, according to the newspaper.
Another woman Menendez accused of obtaining a visa is Juliana Lopes Leite. He was not convicted; The Department of Justice dropped the charges before the retrial. © juliana_leite_us / Instagram
Rosiell Polanco is another recipient of what the Justice Department says was a visa obtained thanks to Menendez using the power of his office.
But by mid-2019, she was unable to make the lower payments and the mortgage company began foreclosure proceedings.
Just as the foreclosures began, Arslanian founded his own consulting business — Strategic International Business Consultants LLC — which ran out of his home address.
The company has no online footprint, and it’s unclear who its customers are. The establishment was run by Menendez’s old friend Donald Scarinci.
The couple married in October 2020 in a small ceremony at Holy Martyrs Armenian Church in Bayside, Queens. Arslanian was born in Lebanon and is of Armenian descent.
Menendez was on a congressional delegation tour of India, including a visit to the Swaninarayan Akshardham Hindu temple in New Delhi, when he proposed to Arslanian. Senator Bob Menendez/ Flickr
Senator Menendez sang his then-girlfriend Nadine Arslanian’s song in front of the Taj Mahal when he proposed in 2019. The couple claimed it was on Princess Diana’s bench, although it was actually on a different bench.Robert&Nadine/YouTube
He told a podcast in 2020 that he encouraged Menendez to push for recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide, which was approved by the Senate in 2019.
As a senator Menendez is required to declare assets that he or his wife own worth more than $1,000. He does not need to declare their origin.
For the first year of their marriage, he declared that he had a checking and savings account with a maximum value of $117,000.
Just a month before he cashed in the gold — on March 16, 2022 — Menendez filed an amendment to his 2020 disclosure that revealed Arslanian had up to $250,000 in gold bullion, according to the Senate filing.
Senator Menendez and Nadine Arslanian married in Queens in 2020. Senator Bob Menendez / Instagram
And in June of this year, he disclosed the sale in four separate parts, adding up to a total value of up to $400,000.
A spokesman for Senator Menendez told The Post Thursday that “the Senator’s financial disclosure forms have been filed according to all deadlines and requirements.” He declined to comment on the federal investigation.
Arslanian’s attorney, David Schertler, did not return an email from The Post seeking comment Wednesday. Washington, DC firm Schertler received $48,000 in fees for “legal services” from Menendez for the Senate in February, according to FEC filings.
Last month, Menendez, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, established the Menendez Legal Defense Fund to help pay for his legal team, The Post can reveal.
Nadine Arslanian, third from left, cashed in up to $400,000 in gold bars amid a federal investigation into gifts she and her husband Sen. Bob Menendez from a business partner. The Armenian Prelacy
This summer Menendez and his wife Arslanian have been in the eastern Mediterranean. They were photographed at a restaurant in Athens last week with US ambassador to Greece George Tsunis.@oldithaki/Instagram
Between January and April of this year, Menendez for Senate spent nearly $187,000 on “legal services” to firms in Chicago and Washington DC, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Among the law firms is the Elias Law Group, which is led by prominent election lawyer Marc Elias, a longtime adviser to the Democratic National Committee before they parted ways in April, according to reports.
Menendez’s recent federal financial disclosures show that Arslanian earned income from the company last year.
The senator’s disclosure form also shows he works for Fusion Diagnostics Laboratories, a New Jersey medical testing company.
Menendez, is scheduled to become an honorary citizen of Paphos, a coastal city in Cyprus on Friday, in recognition of his support for human rights in the region, according to a statement from the Paphos city council.
Additional reporting by Joshua Christenson
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
