The former mayor of Baltimore is seeking a sentence commutation from President Trump, with less than 48 hours before he will leave office.
A database of clemency appeals for the Justice Department lists Catherine Pugh as seeking a commutation of her sentence. It lists the status of her appeal as “pending.”
Pugh, a Democrat, was sentenced in February to three years in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and two counts of tax evasion.
Pugh created the Healthy Holly book series and failed to deliver thousands of copies she sold and double-sold, according to the Justice Department.
“Pugh further admitted that she used the proceeds of the sale of fraudulently obtained Healthy Holly books for her own purposes, including: to fund straw donations to Pugh’s mayoral election campaign; and to fund the purchase and renovation of a house in Baltimore City,” the District of Maryland’s U.S. attorney’s office said.
Pugh was elected mayor in 2016 and resigned amid the book controversy in May 2019. She began serving her sentence in June. A commutation would cut her prison time short, but, unlike a pardon, would not wipe her record clean.
Pugh’s attorney, Steve Silverman, declined to comment on the commutation request when contacted by the Baltimore Sun.
CNN reported on Monday that Trump is planning on issuing as many as 100 pardons and commutations on Tuesday, the day before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in.
