US Rep. Corrine Brown indicted after fraud investigation

Brown used her position to solicit funds for the “One Door for Education – Amy Anderson Scholarship Fund”, telling donors the funds would go to scholarships, school equipment, etc.

Carla Wiley, the president of One Door for Education, has since entered a guilty plea of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud charges. He noted that “Brown, a Democrat, was facing a Department of Justice Investigation related to “fraudulent activities, ‘ and whether or not she improperly solicited charitable donations and misused campaign funds”.

The indictment says that Brown, Simmons and Wiley “used the vast majority” of One Door donations for their personal and professional benefit, including tens of thousands of dollars in cash deposits that Simmons made to Brown’s personal bank accounts. Now seeking re-election, she faces a primary challenge in a redrawn district.

The indictment of Fifth District Congresswoman Corrine Brown tips the advantage to Lawson in a district anchored by Leon County in the west and Jacksonville in the east, according to a couple of Tallahassee-based Democratic-aligned political consultants.

While documents in Wiley’s case didn’t mention Brown by name, prosecutors alleged that $150,000 in charity funds had been used for events hosted by or in the honor of an unnamed public official, dubbed “Person A”.

“I am clean! Goodness, clean.yes”, she said in a response to questions about her involvement with the One Door education charity.

Brown will appear in Jacksonville Federal Court on Friday before a federal magistrate judge, as reported by First Coast News.

“The government’s unreasonable demand not only interfered with her duties as a legislator, but it also needlessly deprived the 700,000 plus citizens in her a district a vote”.

“As part of their fundraising, prosecutors say Brown, Simmons and Wiley spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on events including a golf tournament in Ponte Vedra, Fla., and the use of luxury boxes for an National Football League game and a Beyoncé concert”.

Brown, a 35-year-old Florida Junior College faculty member, wins a seat in the Florida House of Representatives, following the example of a sorority sister, Gwen Cherry, the first black woman elected to that body. Court documents show the money was used to benefit individuals identified only as Person A and Person B. Person A is described as a public official and Person B is described as an associate of Person A. Previous I-TEAM reports detailed reasons why “Person A” was likely Corrine Brown. Brown has pled not guilty on all counts. At the end of March, the House Committee on Ethics opened an Investigative Subcommittee to probe any violations by Brown, including ties to “outside organizations”.

At last check, Brown was still in Washington, D.C.