Ex-Fresno congressman in his own words: TJ Cox speaks about prison sentence
Former Congressman TJ Cox spoke in the lobby of the Robert E. Coyle Justice Center on Monday after he was sentenced to prison time.
He said he believed the family, friends and business partners who spoke on his behalf before he was sentenced to one year and one day in prison helped him get a comparatively lenient sentence.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office requested 41 months, which is three years and five months in prison. Cox’s defense attorney requested probation with no jail time.
Cox pleaded guilty to two fraud charges, and multiple people who were considered victims in the case wrote letters of support to the judge on behalf of Cox.
“So many of the quote unquote victims are saying, ‘We’re not victims at all. We wouldn’t have anything but for a TJ.’ They’ve seen the sacrifices that I’ve worn to create these organizations,” he said.
“And sure I can tell you, did I do some things I probably shouldn’t have done as many businessmen do? Absolutely. Will I ever do those again? I will not, and I wouldn’t recommend anybody else doing them either,” he said.
Not all the victims were so forgiving. One of them, Theresa Thomas, said her husband, Larry, died in 2018 still feeling regret and embarrassment over the $100,000 loan he gave to Cox. The judge ordered Cox to pay her the money in restitution as part of his sentence.
“I hope he never gets a chance to do this to someone else,” she said, holding back tears in court.
This story was originally published December 16, 2025 at 12:31 PM.
