Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., and her chief of staff were indicted Friday over their role in a sham charity.
Brown, who has served in Congress since 1993, and her chief of staff, Elias “Ronnie” Simmons, 50, of Laurel, Maryland, were charged as part of a 24-count indictment. The charges involve participating in a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, concealing material facts on required financial disclosure forms, theft of government property, obstruction of the due administration of the internal revenue laws, and filing false tax returns.
Brown and Simmons will make their first court appearances in Jacksonville Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Klindt at 1 p.m.
The indictment by a federal grand jury comes after a months-long investigation into the charity One Door for Education Foundation.
According to Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Brown and Simmons used the charity to solicit over $800,000 in donations that were then used for a “personal slush fund.” The donations were supposed to be used to give scholarships to poor students.
This year, Carla Wiley pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and took a plea deal. Wiley deposited the $800,000 into the charity’s account over four years. She took the plea deal after Brown was served a federal subpoena in January regarding One Door for Education.
The U.S. House Committee on Ethics deferred its investigation into Brown and the sham charity shortly after the subpoena was served.
Brown is running for reelection in Florida’s recently redrawn 5th Congressional District. She has maintained her innocence in connection with the charity.
Read the full list of charges against Brown and Simmons here.
