Head of 'charity' linked to Corrine Brown pleads guilty to fraud

Congresswoman served with subpoena in January

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The head of a Virginia organization that U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown has called a "charity" pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to two legal documents filed in federal court.

Brown is not mentioned by name in the court filings, which involves a group called One Door for Education, in Leesburg, Virginia.

Recommended Videos



According to one of the documents, Carla Wiley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and agreed to cooperate with federal investigators.

According to the group's website, it manages the Amy Anderson Scholarship Fund. 

Under text that reads, "We make your education dreams a reality through events and fundraisers," are nine photographs, three of which include Brown.

That website is referenced in the federal court document, which reads, "The page was updated with a series of nine new photographs, Person A appeared in three pictures, and Wiley appeared in two." And later, "An individual referred to as "Person A" was a public official."

Legally prosecutors cannot name a person who is not indicted in the document without their permission, but News4Jax believes that "Person A" is Brown.

Brown was served with a federal subpoena in January, but she would not discuss what it was about, telling News4Jax at the time: "You know how much I like to talk, but it's a legal issue and my attorneys are dealing with it."

Her attorney, Bill Sheppard, has also refused to talk about it.

News4Jax has continued to ask Brown for more information about the matter, including last Friday when she accompanied President Barack Obama on his visit to Jacksonville. When asked for a comment about the guilty plea of the One Door leader Friday, her spokesman replied, "Congresswoman Brown says 'I have no comment.'"


About the Author

Kent Justice co-anchors News4Jax's 5 p.m., 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts weeknights and reports on government and politics. He also hosts "This Week in Jacksonville," Channel 4's hot topics and politics public affairs show each Sunday morning at 9 a.m.

Recommended Videos