D.C. Councilman Harry Thomas Jr., who is under federal investigation for his handling of city funds and other finances, has reached a settlement in a separate case with the government on his nearly 30-year-old student loan debt. Thomas, 51, owed nearly $16,000 on two loans he took out in 1983 and ’84 for college. The terms of Wednesday’s settlement, however, have not yet been entered in the court record. Thomas Mauro, a private attorney who represented the United States in the case, said he’s anticipating that Thomas attorney Fred Cooke will file a motion Thursday for the settlement to be sealed from the public. Mauro added he would oppose such a motion.
Cooke declined to comment to The Washington Examiner, saying he “hasn’t decided yet.”
However he did say Thomas was “pleased” to get closure on the lawsuit.
“This thing has been extended for a while,” Cooke said.
Cooke has previously said Thomas’ missed out on paying his loan because of a paperwork mix-up. But on Wednesday, Cooke declined to comment further, saying that part of the settlement “resolution is that neither side is inclined to look back.”
“There are a number of different things that happen that [can] keep a loan from being promptly attended to,” he added. “It wasn’t like he was in Argentina hiding from them.”
The lawsuit was filed in 2006 — 21 years after Thomas graduated from Bowie State University. Mauro said government-guaranteed loans like Thomas’ often take more than a decade to go to civil trial because of the various collection processes.
The loan default is just one more financial pain for Thomas, who has come under scrutiny this year for questionable spending practices within his nonprofit.
The Ward 5 councilman is accused of taking more than $300,000 in city money given to Team Thomas for youth activities, and spending it on lavish vacations and a luxury vehicle for himself.
Thomas paid back the money to the city in a settlement with the D.C. attorney general but the case was also referred to the feds where the money trail has widened. This month, Internal Revenue Service and FBI agents raided Thomas’ home in Northeast.
