Fish Pedicure Cited In Sentencing For $1.5M VA Charity Theft Case

RICHMOND, VA — A woman from Houston, Texas was sentenced in Richmond to four years in prison after admitting to stealing more than $1.5 million from the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign, a charity fundraising program for state employees, according to court documents.

Linda Natelle Brown, 43, of Houston, administered the campaign for the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management from 2017 through 2023, court documents said. The program allowed Virginia state employees to donate to charities by credit card, mailed check and payroll deductions. Brown was responsible for handling those funds and sending payments to the charities selected by donors.

Between January 2019 and August 2023, Brown embezzled more than $1.5 million of the more than $5.3 million donated by state employees, according to court documents. Instead of sending the money to designated charities, she used it for personal spending.

Court documents say Brown used $10,400 in fraud proceeds for a plastic surgery procedure. Records also say she used stolen charity funds to pay for a fish pedicure spa in Las Vegas, along with multiple airline tickets to destinations around the country, stays at luxury hotels, a luxury apartment in Houston, designer clothing and shoes, beauty and cosmetic products, and food and alcohol.

Brown also tried to conceal the theft by attempting to replace some of the missing money with a $494,469 U.S. Small Business Administration-backed business loan, according to court documents. Prosecutors said she obtained that loan by making false statements to the lender.

The court entered a money judgment forfeiture order of $1,581,161.

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation’s Washington, D.C., Field Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division and the Office of the Inspector General of Virginia. Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi Panth prosecuted the case, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kashan K. Pathan assisted the prosecution.

The Department of Justice said the case is part of the Trump administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.