cheka.
12th May 2017, 06:56 AM
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/11/us/politics/corrine-brown-guilty.html
Corrine Brown, a former longtime United States representative from Florida, was convicted on Thursday of taking for herself thousands of dollars in donations that were meant to fund student scholarships.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2017-05-11/ex-us-rep-corrine-brown-guilty-18-fraud-tax-charges
Alexander told jurors Brown repeatedly directed her to turn checks from the sham charity One Door for Education and other sources into cash that could be deposited into Brown’s personal Bank of America account.
The charity billed itself as a scholarship fund, and under those auspices Brown raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the organization by tapping into her network of donors and political allies. Only nominal amounts went to actual charity.
Brown, Simmons and Wiley got the rest.
With that cash, Simmons, who made about $168,030 a year, could afford to live in the Washington suburbs, own a boat (called the Black Diamond) and treat Wiley to expensive dinners and at least one Miami vacation.
Wiley pleaded guilty last year and admitted during Brown’s trial that she stole well north of $100,000 directly from One Door.
More than $300,000 paid for elaborate events held in Brown’s honor. Sometimes they took the form of annual receptions held the week of the Congressional Black Caucus’ yearly conference. The money paid for a luxury box at a Jaguars-Redskins game, and for a Beyonce concert.
In the summer of 2013, One Door cash financed a golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. Donors were told their checks would pay for scholarships and help local charities. No money did.
Prosecutors say donors wrote more than $800,000 worth of checks to One Door from 2012 through 2015.
Still, Brown pleaded ignorance.
Corrine Brown, a former longtime United States representative from Florida, was convicted on Thursday of taking for herself thousands of dollars in donations that were meant to fund student scholarships.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2017-05-11/ex-us-rep-corrine-brown-guilty-18-fraud-tax-charges
Alexander told jurors Brown repeatedly directed her to turn checks from the sham charity One Door for Education and other sources into cash that could be deposited into Brown’s personal Bank of America account.
The charity billed itself as a scholarship fund, and under those auspices Brown raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the organization by tapping into her network of donors and political allies. Only nominal amounts went to actual charity.
Brown, Simmons and Wiley got the rest.
With that cash, Simmons, who made about $168,030 a year, could afford to live in the Washington suburbs, own a boat (called the Black Diamond) and treat Wiley to expensive dinners and at least one Miami vacation.
Wiley pleaded guilty last year and admitted during Brown’s trial that she stole well north of $100,000 directly from One Door.
More than $300,000 paid for elaborate events held in Brown’s honor. Sometimes they took the form of annual receptions held the week of the Congressional Black Caucus’ yearly conference. The money paid for a luxury box at a Jaguars-Redskins game, and for a Beyonce concert.
In the summer of 2013, One Door cash financed a golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. Donors were told their checks would pay for scholarships and help local charities. No money did.
Prosecutors say donors wrote more than $800,000 worth of checks to One Door from 2012 through 2015.
Still, Brown pleaded ignorance.