US senator used stolen funds for Ja trip, says FBI

MEMPHIS, Tennesee (AP):

A Tennessee state senator has been charged with stealing more than US$600,000 (J$87,065,400) in federal funds received by a healthcare company she directed and using the money to pay for her wedding and other personal expenses, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Among the allegations is that state Senator Katrina Robinson used the funds to finance a US$5,000 (J$735,000) trip to Jamaica.

A criminal complaint unsealed yesterday charges Robinson with theft and embezzlement involving government programmes and wire fraud, US Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said in a news release.

Robinson, a Democrat elected to the General Assembly in 2018 from a Memphis district, is also the director of The Healthcare Institute, which provides training for jobs in the healthcare field, prosecutors said.

The Memphis-based school received more than US$2.2 million in federal grants from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

From 2015 through 2019, Robinson reportedly stole more than US$600,000 and used it to pay for her wedding and honeymoon, a vehicle for her daughter, travel and entertainment for her family, and an event for her state Senate campaign, prosecutors said.

She also used the money to pay for legal fees for her divorce, home improvements, and a snow cone business operated by her children, prosecutors allege.

If convicted, Robinson faces a possible sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison. Robinson’s attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment on her behalf.

An Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) affidavit alleges that the federal funds were deposited into the school’s bank account for its operations. The funds were then “commingled indiscriminately with personal expenditure for the benefit of Robinson and her immediate family” FBI special agent Matthew Pruitt wrote.

The FBI said the department received a complaint from someone who claimed that Robinson used the school’s funds to buy a Louis Vuitton handbag for US$550.

Robinson also spent thousands on credit card payments, hair and beauty supplies, and improvements to her body aesthetics business and her house, including a wrought iron front door valued at more than US$5,000, the FBI said.

She also spent more than US$4,700 on makeup, video services, and a party for her wedding, the FBI said.

Over a four-year period, Robinson paid herself US$169,134 more than she was allowed to under salary amounts permitted by the federal grant, the affidavit said.