Aug. 13, 2015: Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla. talks with the
press in Tallahassee, Fla. Brown has been indicted after a federal
investigation into a fraudulent charity with ties to the congresswoman. (AP)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown of
Florida and her chief of staff have been charged with multiple fraud and other
federal offenses in a grand jury indictment unsealed Friday after a federal
investigation into a fraudulent charity with ties to the congresswoman.
Brown, a 69-year-old Democrat, was to appear later Friday
in Jacksonville federal court on charges of mail and wire fraud, conspiracy,
obstruction and filing of false tax returns. She has represented a
Jacksonville-based congressional district since 1993 and is seeking re-election
in a newly-redrawn district.
The indictment comes after an investigation into the
charity One Door for Education Foundation Inc., which federal prosecutors say
was purported to give scholarships to poor students but instead filled the
coffers of Brown and her associates.
Also charged in the 24-count indictment was Elias
"Ronnie" Simmons, 50, of Laurel, Maryland, who has served as Brown's
chief of staff since 1993. It wasn't immediately clear from court records
whether Brown and Simmons had attorneys to represent them.
Earlier this year, One Door President Carla Wiley pleaded
guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after it as determined
that she had deposited $800,000 into the foundation's account over four years.
Over that time, federal prosecutors say it gave one scholarship for $1,000 and
that Wiley transferred herself tens of thousands of dollars.
"Congresswoman Brown and her chief of staff are
alleged to have used the congresswoman's official position to solicit over
$800,000 in donations to a supposed charitable organization, only to use that
organization as a personal slush fund," Assistant U.S. Attorney General
Leslie Caldwell, chief of the Justice Department's criminal division, said in a
statement.
"Corruption erodes the public's trust in our entire
system of representative government," Caldwell added.
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.
According to the indictment, more than $200,000 in One
Door funds were used to pay for events hosted by Brown or held in her honor,
including a golf tournament, lavish receptions during an annual Washington
conference and the use of luxury boxes for a concert and an NFL game in the
Washington area.
Documents previously obtained by The Associated Press
from Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's office show that he received an invitation
bearing the seal of the House of Representatives to a July 13, 2013 golf
tournament called the "Corrine Brown Invitational." It was sponsored
by the One Door organization and coincided with a freight and rail industry
symposium in Jacksonville.
Potential donors attending the tournament received
letters from One Door with Brown's signature and official House seal asking
them to give from $125 up to $20,000 to One Door, according to Wiley's plea
agreement.
The invitation said the donations would benefit a
scholarship fund for the Jacksonville chapter of the Conference of Minority
Transportation Officials, or COMTO, and other charities. Authorities say none
of the charities received any of the money raised.
