Former lawmaker gets five years in prison for fraud

A federal judge on Monday gave former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., a five-year prison sentence for funneling money to a sham charity. Brown’s former chief of staff, Ronnie Simmons, received a 48-month sentence, and Carla Wiley, the founder of One Door for Education, will spend 21 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan said Brown used her position in Congress to steal money under the veil of One Door. He noted the three used funds intended to help provide educational opportunities for impoverished children to finance lavish lifestyles. “This was a crime born out of entitlement and greed committed to ensure a lifestyle that was beyond their means,” Corrigan said in a statement. “Just think of the good that could have been done with that money if it would have been used for its intended purpose.” One Door logged $800,000 in donations between 2012 and 2016. Brown served 24 years in Congress and vacated her seat in May after a jury indicted her on 18 counts, including fraud, falsifying her tax returns, and lying on her congressional financial disclosures. She was one of the first African-Americans elected to Congress from Florida after Reconstruction. Corrigan ordered the 71-year-old to report to prison on Jan. 8.