Corrine Brown: Ex-Florida Congresswoman Gets Prison For Fraud

JACKSONVILLE, FL — Former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, who was accused in a fraud scheme of using hundreds of thousands of dollars in charity money for lavish parties, trips and shopping excursions, was sentenced in federal court on Monday to five years in prison. Brown, 71, was sentenced in Jacksonville, which she represented in Congress during her historic, nearly 25-year career.

Brown, a Democrat, was one of the first three African-Americans to be voted into Congress from Florida since the Reconstruction. A federal jury in May convicted her of 18 of the 22 charges against her, which included fraud, lying on her tax returns and on her congressional financial disclosures. Now, she faces a sentence of up to life in prison.

Prosecutors outlined a pattern of fraud by Brown and her top aide that included using money from the One Door for Education Foundation as a personal slush fund.

Brown's former chief of staff, Elias "Ronnie" Simmons, and One Door's executive director Carla Wiley accepted plea deals and testified against Brown. They are also scheduled to be sentenced Monday.

Federal prosecutors said the three used One Door to bring in more than $800,000 between 2012 and 2016, including a high-profile golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass. The Virginia-based One Door only gave out one scholarship for $1,200 to an unidentified person in Florida, according to court documents.

Simmons told jurors that his boss ordered him to take cash and checks from One Door's account on dozens of occasions and deposit the money into Brown's personal account.

Brown testified in her own defense, saying she was left in the dark about the details of One Door's money, and blamed the theft on Simmons.

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Corrigan could sentence Brown to many years in prison for each of her 18 counts.

Her attorneys argued for leniency at a hearing last month, saying Brown's community work should mitigate her crimes.

Photo credit: Mark Wallheiser/Associated Press