Congresswoman indicted, accused of using charity as 'slush fund'

[mystery-ak]

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/287012-congresswoman-indicted-on-24-counts-of-fraud

July 08, 2016, 12:33 pm
Congresswoman indicted, accused of using charity as 'slush fund'

By Harper Neidig



Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) and her chief of staff, Elias “Ronnie” Simmons, are being charged with 24 counts of fraud in connection with a fake charity, according to a federal grand jury indictment that was released Friday.
 
The charges include mail and wire fraud, conspiracy and tax fraud, according to the Department of Justice.
 
Prosecutors allege that Brown and her associates were pocketing funds from a One Door for Education Inc., an organization that billed itself as a charity for poor students even though it was not properly registered as a nonprofit.
 
According to the indictment, Brown used her office to lobby for donations to the fake charity.
 
"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," said Assistant U.S. Attorney General Leslie Caldwell in a statement.
 
The indictment states that Simmons and Brown, who has been in the House since 1993, used more than $200,000 in charity funds to put on a golf tournament, throw extravagant Washington receptions and for luxury box seats at a Beyonce concert and an NFL game.
 
Money for the charity was also spent on luxury vacations in the Bahamas, Los Angeles and Miami Beach.
 
The group’s president, Carla Wiley, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud earlier this year. Prosecutors say Wiley had deposited $800,000 into One Door’s account, but the organization had only given out two scholarships worth $1,200.
 
“It is incredibly disappointing that an elected official, who took an oath year after year to serve others, would exploit the needs of children and abuse the charitable hearts of constituents to advance her own personal and political agendas and deliver them with virtually nothing,” said FBI Special Agent Michelle Klimt in the statement.
 
A spokesman in Brown’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

indictment at link

[geronl]

You mean like Hillary and Trump do...

[Gov Bean Counter]

You mean like Hillary and Trump do...

...and one of those two will probably be indicted prior to the election. I will give you two guesses and the first one doesn't count.

[mystery-ak]

[don-o]

Brown, chief of staff plead not guilty to fraud charges

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-corrine-brown-arraignment-20160708-story.html

Jason Dearen, Curt AndersonAssociated Press

JACKSONVILLE — U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown and her chief of staff pleaded not guilty Friday to fraud and other federal offenses outlined in a grand jury indictment unsealed after an investigation into what prosecutors call a phony charity turned into a personal slush fund.

Brown, a 69-year-old Democrat from Jacksonville, and Chief of Staff Elias "Ronnie" Simmons, 50, entered pleas in Jacksonville federal court on charges of mail and wire fraud, conspiracy, obstruction and filing of false tax returns.

Brown has represented a district that stretches south to Orlando since 1993. She is seeking re-election in a newly redrawn district.

The 24-count indictment comes after an investigation into the purported charity One Door for Education Foundation Inc. Federal prosecutors say One Door claimed it was giving scholarships to poor students but it instead filled the coffers of Brown and her associates.

snip

Brown and Simmons, of Laurel, Md., were both released on $50,000 bail and ordered not to travel outside the U.S. A status hearing was set for July 26. Simmons, who has been Brown's chief of staff since 1993, declined comment.

Earlier this year, One Door President Carla Wiley pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after it was 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 $200 to an unidentified person in Florida, while 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.

exc

[catfish1957]

The Clinton foundation is about as slushy as they come.

One of favorite recent examples is the oil company ExxonMobil.  They decided to stop paying the Clinton Foundation Tribute, and Hitlery sicked her state AG surrogates from NY and CA to bring up a lawsuit on global warming.

I bet there are literally 100's of examples like this.