DETROIT – Sources say federal investigators have found big bank accounts in Bobby Ferguson's name that they did not know about.
Ferguson is behind bars while he awaits sentencing for federal corruption convictions, but that hasn't stopped investigators from diving into his personal life.
Sources say the secret accounts hold about $200,000. Ferguson's name is on them all.
"The government, they always argued that both defendants likely had access to huge amounts of cash because it was out there missing. And now we've at least come across some money that is out there, apparently not locally, but somewhere else where Ferguson can get access to it," said former federal prosecutor Keith Corbett.
The contractor and longtime friend of former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was convicted in March of running a criminal enterprise to pad his and Kilpatrick's pockets. With sentencing coming up, this latest money discovery raises a lot of questions and has the potential of getting Ferguson into a lot more trouble.
"Is the money coming from outside the United States or is it going through that account to places outside the United States? These could give rise to additional charges. But given the fact that Mr. Ferguson is looking at a 20-year felony right now, I think the government is more interested right now in trying to locate this money, and then every effort they can to retrieve this money for the taxpayers and for Detroit," said Corbett.