The second most powerful member of city government in Washington DC was hit with new federal charges on Thursday after his resignation a day earlier on a felony bank fraud charge.

Kwame Brown, who resigned as chairman of the city council late Wednesday, now faces a misdemeanor campaign finance charge.

The US attorney's office in DC accuses Brown, 41, of getting his brother to set up a secret account during his 2008 council race. Campaign receipts deposited to the account were allegedly used for illegal spending.

Brown resigned Wednesday after it was disclosed that he had admitted to the bank fraud charge. In a 2006 credit card application, Brown said his home was worth $850,000, when its actual value was less than half that.

"I have made some very serious mistakes in judgment for which I will take full responsibility," Brown wrote in a resignation letter Wednesday. "I have behaved in ways that I should not have. I was wrong, and I will face the consequences of that conduct."

Brown is the second council member in as many months to succumb to a sprawling federal investigation of corruption in the DC government. Council member Harry L Thomas Jr was sentenced in May to more than three years in prison for stealing $353,500 meant for youth sports and arts programs. At least six of the 13 council members have been subpoenaed in the ongoing investigation, the Washington Post has reported.

Besieged by reporters outside his office Wednesday, in a chaotic scene captured by local NBC News cameras, Brown said that he would comment further on the bank fraud charges Thursday. He is now expected to delay comment until Friday following a plea hearing in the US district court.

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read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/07/washington-dc-city-council-bank-charge