Ashley Hunter
Greene Publishing, Inc.
Congress Representative Corrine Brown (D., Fla.) was indicted on Friday, July 8 along with her chief of staff, Elias “Ronnie” Simmons, due to their involvement in wire and mail fraud, concealing material facts on required financial forms, theft of government property, obstruction of due administration of the internal revenue laws and filing false tax returns.
Brown, who is currently the representative to Florida's District 5, would have been the representative to Madison County once the congressional redistricting map of Florida passed through the proper courts. Brown also recently made a visit to Madison County during 2016, when she arrived with the Amtrak train to promote the line and its sponsors.
On Friday July 8, Brown and Simmons, amongst possible others, were charged with a 24-count indictment related to a fraud scheme that ran under the title of 'One Door for Education – Amy Anderson Scholarship Fund.' According to a press release from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the fraud scheme had allegedly been in operation between late 2012 and early 2016.
Brown, Simmons and Carla Wiley, president of One Door, amongst others, used the vast majority of One Door donations for their personal and professional benefit, including tens of thousands of dollars in deposits that Simmons made to Brown's personal bank accounts.
One Door funds were donated by individuals and corporate entities that Simmons claimed to have gathered through people Brown knew through her position as congresswoman. The funds for One Door were intended to support college scholarships and school computer drives, amongst other education-oriented expenses...instead, the indictment alleges that the funds were used by Brown, and others, for personal uses. The indictment claims that more than $200,000 in One Door funds were used to pay for unsparing events such as a golf tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl.; lavish receptions during an annual conference in Washington, D.C.; and the use of luxury boxes during an NFL game and during a concert in Washington, D.C.
It is estimated that more than $800,000 in charitable donations has been gathered through One Door, and only two scholarships, totaled at $1,200, have been awarded to students to cover college expenses.
Despite all the charges that Brown is facing and that Wiley has already pled guilty to, Brown is pleading her innocence.
“My heart is heavy, but my spirit remains unbroken. Being indicted is very scary, yet my conscience is clear because I'm innocent,” writes Brown on her blog. “The most important thing I want you to understand is that an indictment is not a conviction. An indictment is an accusation. Anybody can make an accusation. You've heard the prosecutor’s side, but you still have not heard the rest of the story.”
Brown stands by her claims of being innocent, even starting her blog post off with comparing her corruption charges to the tragic assassinations of the five Dallas police officers on Thursday, July 7.
While Brown may attest to her innocence, a federal court date in September has been made to prove whether or not she truly is blameless in the crimes she has been charged with having committed.