UPDATE 1-US charges Obama fund-raiser in $290 million fraud

* New U.S. charges against Democratic Party fund-raiser

* Accused of defrauding three banks from 1998 to 2009

*

By Grant McCool

NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Hassan Nemazee, a fund-raiser
for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, has been
indicted for defrauding Bank of America (BAC.N), HSBC (HSBA.L)
and Citigroup Inc (C.N) out of more than $290 million in loan
proceeds, U.S. prosecutors said on Monday.

The announcement follows last month's indictment of
Nemazee, head of a private equity firm and an Iranian American
Political Action Committee board member, on one count of
defrauding Citigroup's Citibank.

The new indictment adds allegations that he defrauded two
other banks, Bank of America and HSBC Bank USA, in a similar
fashion by falsifying documents and signatures to purportedly
show he had hundreds of millions worth of collateral.

The office of the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan and the FBI
said he used the proceeds of his scheme to make donations to
election campaigns of federal, state and local candidates,
donations to political action committees and charities.

He bought property in Italy and paid for maintenance on two
properties in New York.

His lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

As of August 2009 Nemazee owed Bank of America about $142
million and owed Citibank about $74.9 million, the indictment
said. He drew on a line of credit he fraudulently obtained from
HSBC to pay the Citibank loan.

Nemazee, 59, typically donates more than $100,000 annually
to Democratic political candidates. He is listed as one of the
top "bundlers" of contributions to Obama's 2008 presidential
campaign, according to OpenSecrets.org, a website run by the
Center for Responsive Politics research group.

"For more than 10 years, Hassan Nemazee projected the
illusion of wealth, stealing more than $290 million so that he
could lead a lavish lifestyle and play the part of heavyweight
political fundraiser," United States Attorney Preet Bharara in
Manhattan said in a statement.

Nemazee was arrested at Newark Liberty International
Airport in New Jersey on Aug. 23 as he was checking in for a
flight to Italy, according to court papers. He was released on
bail.

If convicted on three counts of bank fraud, Nemazee faces
up to 30 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines. He
is also charged with identity theft.

The case is: U.S. v. Nemazee, 09-mj-1927 in U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan)
(Reporting by Grant McCool, editing by Leslie Gevirtz and
Matthew Lewis)