JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown and her chief of staff were indicted Friday for their roles in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving a fraudulent education charity.
Brown, 69, of Jacksonville and her chief of staff, Elias “Ronnie” Simmons, 50, of Laurel, Maryland, were charged in a 24-count indictment with 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.
DOCUMENT: Indictment of Corrine Brown, Elias Simmons
“Our office is committed to ferreting out and prosecuting all forms of corruption and fraud, regardless of who the offender is,”U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III said. “In our nation, no one is above the law.”
According to the indictment, Brown used money from her campaign to give to the charity, Virginia-based One Door for Education, and, at times, deposited some of that money into her own personal bank account.
Prosecutors claim Brown, Simmons and One Door's president, Carla Wiley, used money donated to the charity to buy plane tickets, repair their personal cars and to pay for luxury vacations in the Bahamas, Los Angeles and Miami Beach. The indictment said more than $200,000 from the charity was used to pay for Brown to host a golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, to pay for lavish receptions, a luxury box at a Beyonce concert and a box during when the Jacksonville Jaguars played the Washington Redskins.
And to pay for lavish receptions in Washington.
The tax fraud charges against Brown date back to 2008.
Brown arrived at the Federal Courthouse in Jacksonville about 10:30 a.m. Friday in advance of a 1 p.m. hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Klindt, where she will be formally read the charges.
WATCH: Corrine Brown arrives at Federal Courthouse
According to court records, three judges have recused themselves from the case so far -- Magistrates Joel B. Toomey and Monte C. Richardson, and District Judge Brian J. Davis. Their recusals resulted in the appointment of Klindt and U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan.
"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 Attorney General Caldwell. "Corruption erodes the public's trust in our entire system of representative government. One of the department's most important responsibilities is to root out corruption at all levels of government and to bring wrongdoers to justice."
Three sources told the I-TEAM on Thursday that the grand jury had reached the decision based on evidence gathered in a U.S. Justice Department investigation into Brown's involvement with One Door and Wiley, who pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection to the unregistered charity. Court documents from her case appear to show that Brown's name and image were used in the charity's efforts, and she may have benefited from funds raised.
Those sources all had the same answer about what the grand jury's decision was, but News4Jax waited for official confirmation from federal prosecutors, which came when the list of charges was released Friday.
Brown’s attorney, Bill Sheppard, told News4Jax on Thursday that he had not heard anything regarding a grand jury decision, but added he likely would not hear anything until the decision was made public.
“I'm learning more from the media than I am from the government about any of this, so I really can't comment about something I don't know anything about,” Sheppard said Friday morning before the indictment was posted.
A grand jury only needs to find probable cause to return an indictment; it does not need to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Brown, a Democrat running for re-election in Florida's Fifth Congressional District, has fought off challenges over two decades in Congress and has insisted on her innocence in the matter. "I'm clean," she told reporters in March as she faced questions about federal probes amid a separate legal fight over the shape of her district.
Brown was served with a federal subpoena in January. The U.S. House Committee on Ethics had just released a letter announcing it had opened an investigation, but was deferring the inquiry at the request of the U.S. Justice Department.
News4Jax report from Washington, D.C.:
What's next for Rep. Corrine Brown?
The ethics committee investigation will delve into allegations that Brown "engaged in improper conduct" with outside organizations, including allegations that she may have "conspired with other persons in connection with fraudulent activity, improperly solicited charitable donations, used campaign funds for personal purposes," and other matters, according to the letter.
Brown did not return calls and avoided cameras both before she left Washington Thursday afternoon and when she arrived in Jacksonville 24 hours ahead of her scheduled plans to return home. News4Jax cameras captured Brown entering the courthouse Friday morning, but she declined to comment on the grand jury decision.
Grand jury proceedings are secret, and a grand jury hears only from prosecutors, not defense lawyers, to decide if there is probable cause to move forward with charges. If charges are filed, that person is arrested, or brought before a judge, and notified of the charges.
It's not until trial that a defendant can present a defense.
Political experts, former prosecutor react
Rick Mullaney, with Jacksonville University's Public Policy Institute, and Jennifer Carroll, former lieutenant governor and News4Jax's political analyst, both believe Brown will work to keep her office, despite the indictment.
"The congresswoman has made it clear she is going to fight the charges. And after the indictment -- we should be clear that an indictment does not disqualify her from running, and it does not disqualify her as a member of Congress -- I think you can expect to see the congresswoman continue to seek re-election to the 5th congressional district," Mullaney said.
State Sen. Audrey Gibson released a statement calling Brown "the victim of circumstances, wherein she trusted someone whom she thought had a heart for the underserved, as she does."
Gibson recounted Brown's accomplishments brining a Veteran's Administration clinic to Jacksonville, helping fund Jacksonville's port, health care coverage and helping students and parents access low-interest loans.
"Congresswoman Brown has devoted countless hours to her constituents while balancing legislative and personal life in a district that had suffered from institutional neglect for years," Gibson wrote. "I look forward to her exoneration when the true facts are laid for years."
Curtis Fallgatter, who was an assistant U.S. attorney in Jacksonville for 17 years, is now representing witnesses who were called to testify before the federal grand jury investigating Brown.
Fallgatter said the grand jury heard from witnesses who interacted with Brown.
He said prosecutors have made clear that this day was a long time coming.
“The government has made it clear in a variety of ways that they (had) every intention of returning charges against Congresswoman Brown. To most observers, it's been a question of a matter of time,” Fallgatter said. “(They made it clear through) communication with witnesses, attorneys to witnesses (and) some public statements they've made.”
Those public statements include a plea deal with Carla Wiley, a former Brown acquaintance.
Connection to questionable charity
Wiley, the president of One Door for Education Foundation, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in March, in connection with the questionable Virginia-based nonprofit.
Those public court documents also detailed a scheme to defraud donors out of $800,000. Court documents show the money was used to benefit individuals identified only as Person A and Person B. Person A was described as a public official, and Person B was described as an associate of Person A.
It's now clear that Person A was Brown and Person B was Simmons. News4Jax learned that Simmons was dating Wiley and the two of them took at least one trip taken using charity funds.
Court filings show Wiley deposited the $800,000 into the group's bank account over the past four years, but gave out two scholarships: one for $1,000 and one for $200. Wiley transferred thousands of dollars to herself; the money was also used to fund parties, an NFL luxury box and other extravagances in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Attorney indictment of Carla Wiley | Wiley's plea agreement
The documents also show One Door for Education was never properly registered with the IRS as a nonprofit organization. The I-TEAM obtained a flier for a 2013 golfing fundraiser at TPC Sawgrass. It showed the event was hosted by Brown and sponsored by One Door for Education.
Brown's photo also appeared on the One Door for Education's website, shown in the same photos as Wiley. Despite that, Brown publicly denied knowing Wiley to reporters in May.
"Who? I don't know who that is," Brown said. "Don't discuss local gossip with me."
That same month, federal prosecutors asked a judge to delay Wiley’s sentencing because she was being a “cooperative witness.”