Former Idaho American Legion leader indicted for fraud

The Idaho man at the center of a sprawling federal financial fraud prosecution had nearly unfettered access and control of the Idaho American Legion’s finances for about seven years and repeatedly abused his position of power, according to his criminal indictment. 

Over that period, Charles “Abe” Abrahamson, 56, a former U.S. Marine and Idaho Army National Guard member, “knowingly participated in, devised, and intended to devise, a scheme, plan and artifice to defraud” the military veteran nonprofit and an individual of a total of at least $1.45 million, according to the Dec. 9 charging document posted Tuesday.

Abrahamson, a longtime Mountain Home resident before recently relocating to southwest Florida, did so “to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and by failing to disclose material facts when there was a duty to disclose,” his six-page indictment continued. 

He is charged with five felony counts of wire fraud, from incidents between January 2022 to March 2023, totaling about $80,000. Abrahamson is also charged with three felony counts of tax fraud for falsely reporting his income to the IRS for tax years 2020, 2022 and 2023, according to the document. If convicted, he could face up to 23 years in federal prison, plus restitution, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.

Abrahamson made his first appearance Monday at the Middle District of Florida federal courthouse in Fort Myers, Florida. His criminal case is cross-listed in the U.S. District of Idaho, and he is expected to appear next at the federal courthouse in Boise at a date yet to be scheduled. 

Fraud charges tell a story 

Abrahamson was placed in charge of the Idaho nonprofit’s bank accounts in mid-2017 before he advanced to the commander role from mid-2018 to mid-2019, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. When that one-year appointment lapsed, he returned to the Legion’s senior leadership role overseeing its finances — including investment savings accounts and checking accounts — until he was later suspended amid an internal investigation in April 2024.

From roughly 2018 to April 2024, Abrahamson “obtained and controlled at least $1,454,025 in unrecovered forfeitable property,” read the indictment signed by Sean Mazorol, assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Idaho.

During that time, Abrahamson accepted money on behalf of the Legion from a donor to fund student scholarships toward summer and vocational programs. He later “falsely represented account balances for funds” by creating false bank statements to deceive the donor, the document detailed. 

The donated money, totaling $100,000 and intended to establish an endowment fund, disappeared, the Statesman’s investigation found. In February 2024, Abrahamson turned over documents accounting for the full $100,000 between two separate bank accounts, but neither turned out to be legitimate, the nonprofit’s then-commander told the Idaho American Legion’s 8,000 members in an email reviewed by the Statesman.

Abrahamson also made several money transfers and payments for unauthorized personal expenses, including to pay down credit card debt, read the indictment based on an IRS criminal investigation. In a specific transaction documented in March 2022, Abrahamson used an ATM at a casino to draw from the nonprofit’s account $8,000 “for his own personal use or gain, including gambling.” 

Abrahamson was known by fellow Legion members to frequent Cactus Petes Resort Casino in Jackpot, Nevada, and had a top-tier gambling loyalty card there, Bob Skinner, Idaho American Legion national executive committeeman, previously told the Statesman. The indictment further detailed that Abrahamson sold off real estate owned by the Legion. He later “withdrew the funds for his own personal use and benefit,” it said.

The Idaho American Legion counts about 100 local chapters, Skinner said. The chapter in Hailey folded a few years ago, leaving a 5,400-square-foot historic Main Street building owned by the nonprofit. Abrahamson took control of the building and sold it for $92,000 in March 2023 without informing fellow executive committee members, the Statesman’s investigation found.

This year’s assessed value of the building in Hailey is nearly $890,000, Blaine County Assessor Jim Williams told the Statesman by email. “If they bought it for $92,000, they got a deal,” he previously said.