FLORIDA
A federal judge sentenced convicted former U.S. Congresswoman Corrine Brown to five years in prison Monday for her role in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving a fraudulent scholarship charity, according to officials.
Former U.S. Congresswoman Corrine Brown was sentenced to five years in prison today in federal court in Jacksonville, Florida for her role in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving a sham scholarship charity.
“Corrine Brown abused her position as a Member of Congress by defrauding charitable donors who wanted to help underprivileged young men and women receive a quality education,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan. “Instead of helping those deserving students, Brown used the contributions she solicited to finance a personal slush fund to support her lavish lifestyle. The Criminal Division is committed to helping root out such fraud wherever we find it.”
“I am proud of the exceptional work of the special agents, analysts and support personnel who spent countless hours following the money trail in this case,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge in Jacksonville, Florida Charles Spencer. “Their work is some of the most complex, tedious, and significant work we do for the American public. Rooting out public corruption is a priority for which the FBI will continue to dedicate the resources necessary to investigate, because the impact on everyday people is real. We thank our law enforcement partners at the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, IRS-CI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for their efforts to hold Brown and her associates accountable for their inexcusable actions.”
U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Corrigan sentenced Brown to serve 60 months in prison; Brown’s long-time Chief of Staff Elias “Ronnie” Simmons to serve four years in prison; and Carla Wiley, the president of the fraudulent charity, to serve 21 months in prison.
Brown, 71, of Jacksonville, was convicted by a federal jury on May 11, on 18 counts of an indictment charging her with participating in a mail and wire fraud conspiracy and scheme, concealing material facts on required financial disclosure forms, obstructing the due administration of the internal revenue laws and filing false tax returns.
Brown’s co-conspirators — Simmons, 51, of Laurel, Maryland and Wiley, 55, of Leesburg, Virginia — previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the education charity scheme on Feb. 8, and March 3, 2016, respectively.
Brown and Wiley were ordered by Judge Corrigan to forfeit $654,292.39, and Simmons was ordered to forfeit $727,964.90. All three defendants were ordered to pay total restitution of $452,515.87 to victims of the fraud scheme.
Brown was ordered to pay an additional $62,650.99 in restitution to the IRS, and Simmons was ordered to pay an additional $91,621.38 in restitution to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Evidence at trial showed that between late 2012 and early 2016, Brown participated in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving One Door for Education – Amy Anderson Scholarship Fund (One Door) in which the Brown, Simmons, Wiley and others acting on their behalf solicited more than $800,000 in charitable donations based on false representations that the donations would be used for college scholarships and school computer drives, among other charitable causes.
Testimony by One Door donors showed that Brown and her co-conspirators solicited donations from individuals and corporate entities that Brown knew by virtue of her position in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Many of the donors were led to believe that One Door was a non-profit organization, when, in fact, it was not.
Contrary to Brown’s representations, Brown, Simmons, Wiley and others used the vast majority of One Door donations for their personal and professional benefit.
This included tens of thousands of dollars in cash deposits that Simmons made to Brown’s personal bank accounts, according to trial evidence.
In one instance, Simmons deposited $2,100 of One Door funds into Brown’s personal bank account the same day that Brown paid $2,057 to the IRS for taxes she owed.
The evidence showed Brown and Simmons used the outside consulting company of one of Brown’s employees to funnel One Door funds to Brown and others for their personal use.
In one instance, Simmons deposited $2,100 of One Door funds into Brown’s personal bank account the same day that Brown paid $2,057 to the IRS for taxes she owed.
Likewise, trial evidence showed Brown and Simmons used the outside consulting company of one of Brown’s employees to funnel One Door funds to Brown and others for their personal use.
Trial evidence also showed that more than $300,000 in One Door funds were used to pay for events hosted by Brown or held in her honor, including a golf tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; lavish receptions during an annual conference in Washington, D.C.; the use of a luxury box during a concert in Washington, D.C.; and the use of a luxury box during an NFL game in the Washington D.C., area.
According to the evidence, despite raising over $800,000 in donations, One Door granted only two scholarships totaling $1,200 that were awarded to students to cover expenses related to attending a college or university.
Additionally, the evidence demonstrated that Brown failed to disclose, among other things, the reportable income she received from One Door and claimed deductions on her tax returns based on false statements that she made certain donations to One Door, as well as to local churches and non-profit organizations in the Jacksonville area.