Prosecutors ask appeals court to uphold former U.S. Rep Corrine Brown’s convictions on federal fraud charges

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Prosecutors are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals to uphold the federal fraud convictions of former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown.

The 69-page brief, filed on Dec. 23, centers around Brown’s attorneys arguing that it was wrong to dismiss a juror who said that the “Holy Spirit” told him that Brown was not guilty of all counts. The brief says in part:

“The district court did not abuse its discretion in excusing Juror 13 after finding that he was not following the court’s directive that the jurors decide the defendant’s guilt or innocence, after deliberating with their fellow jurors, based on the evidence and the court’s instructions.”

READ THE FULL FILING BELOW:

Brown is appealing her conviction, and the date for that appeal is set for Feb. 22.

Brown was released from home confinement in October. Federal Magistrate Judge James Klindt ruled that Brown can travel outside the district but must remain in the Continental United States. The judge stated that Brown is not likely to flee and is not likely a danger to the community. A $50,000 bond exists, but Brown does not have to post the money. She must continue to have no contact with the co-conspirators.

In September, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated an earlier decision by a three-judge panel, and agreed to rehear the case in full court.

She was released from federal prison in April due to coronavirus concerns. Pastor Kelvin Cobaris, who accompanied Brown when she first surrendered at Federal Corrections Institution Coleman in January 2018, told Action News Jax at the time that Brown was on her way back home to Jacksonville to carry out the remainder of her sentence.

Also in April, Brown and her attorneys filed an “Emergency Motion for Compassionate Release,” which stated that she has several ailments, including “hypertension, thyroid removed, diabetes, heart murmur, acid reflux, sleep apnea and cataracts.”

Brown went to trial in Jacksonville and was found guilty in May 2017 on 18 of 22 charges connected to the fraud, which involved soliciting hundreds of thousands of dollars to a sham charity organization and using the money for personal expenses and lavish events instead. She surrendered for her five-year prison sentence on January 29, 2018.

Co-conspirator Carla Wiley was released from Federal Prison Camp Alderson in West Virginia on June 5, 2019.

Her former chief of staff, Ronnie Simmons, surrendered January 8, 2018 for his four-year sentence at Federal Corrections Institution Cumberland’s minimum-security satellite camp in Maryland. He was released from custody on June 4.

Cox Media Group