Former U.S. congresswoman Corrine Brown has been convicted of fraudulently soliciting hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarship donations that, prosecutors say, she used for a personal \u201cslush fund.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown, a Florida Democrat who served for more than two decades in the U.S. House of Representatives, was convicted Thursday by a federal jury in Jacksonville, Fla., for her role in a scheme soliciting more than $800,000 in donations through the charity One Door for Education Foundation, according to the Justice Department. The 70-year-old Brown and others told donors that the money would be used for college scholarships, among other things, federal prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFormer Congresswoman Corrine Brown violated the public trust, the honor of her position, and the integrity of the American system of government when she abused one of the most powerful positions in the nation for her own personal gain,\u201d Acting Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kenneth Blanco said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cShe shamefully deprived needy children of hundreds of thousands of dollars that could have helped with their education and improved their opportunities for advancement, and she lied to the IRS and the American public about secret cash deposits into her personal bank accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n After her indictment last year<\/a>,\u00a0Brown, who was one of the first African Americans to represent Florida\u00a0in Congress since Reconstruction, lost her reelection bid, according to the Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n As The Washington Post\u2019s\u00a0Amber Phillips\u00a0reported<\/a>, Brown\u2019s fundraising tactics had come into question in the past:<\/p>\n In 1998, the House Ethics Committee announced they were questioning her on a range of ethics concerns, including a $10,000 check she received from a Baptist leader in legal trouble and a $50,000 car her daughter received from a Gambian millionaire, who was an associate of Brown\u2019s facing jail time in Florida on bribery charges. The congressional investigation decided it did not have enough evidence to prove she did anything wrong, but it did say she acted with poor judgment in having her daughter accept the car.<\/p>\n Also in 1998, Brown\u2019s campaign treasurer quit after he found his name had been forged on her campaign reports.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Evidence showed that from\u00a02012 to 2016, Brown, her former chief of staff, Elias \u201cRonnie\u201d Simmons, and\u00a0Carla Wiley,\u00a0president of the fraudulent charity,\u00a0reached out to people and businesses Brown knew from her position in Congress for donations.\u00a0The scholarship donations were then used mostly for Brown\u2019s personal and professional interests, including \u201ctens of thousands of dollars in cash deposits that Simmons made to Brown\u2019s personal bank accounts,\u201d according to the\u00a0Justice Department.<\/p>\n The Justice Department\u00a0said that more than $300,000 in donations was used to pay for events\u00a0such a\u00a0well-known\u00a0golf tournament in Florida and lavish receptions, as well as box seats to a concert and a professional football game while in D.C.\u00a0In fact, only\u00a0$1,200 in donations was used for scholarships for college students, according to the Justice Department.<\/p>\n Evidence also showed that\u00a0Brown\u00a0\u201cfailed 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 nonprofit organizations in the Jacksonville area,\u201d according to the Justice Department.<\/p>\n Brown was indicted on nearly two dozen counts, including falsifying her\u00a0financial disclosure forms and\u00a0filing fake tax returns. She pleaded not guilty.\u00a0At trial, Brown told the jury she was not aware of the fraud that was taking place and passed the blame to her chief of staff, according to the Associated Press<\/a>. Brown was\u00a0convicted on 18 of the initial counts<\/a>.<\/p>\n Her co-conspirators have both pleaded guilty to charges.<\/p>\n \u201cFormer Congresswoman Brown chose greed and personal gain over the sacred trust given to her by the community that she served for many years,\u201d acting U.S. attorney W. Stephen Muldrow said in a statement.<\/p>\n After her conviction Thursday, Brown maintained her innocence in\u00a0a statement from her attorney to the New York Times<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cI did not commit these crimes, and I intend to file a motion for a new trial,\u201d she\u00a0said in the statement, according to the Times. \u201cThis fight is not over, and as I\u2019m sure you know, I will continue to fight to clear my name and restore my reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n Brown\u2019s attorney, James Smith, told reporters that Brown plans to file a motion for a new trial, according to the Associated Press.\u00a0\u201cShe\u2019s strong and fighting for her innocence,\u201d Smith\u00a0said, according to\u00a0AP.<\/p>\n Brown\u2019s sentencing date has not yet been set.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Corrine Brown, the Orlando massacre, and what not to say when you\u2019re indicted by the feds<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Source washingtonpost<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"