Ex-director of Library Foundation gets 10 years for fraud, money laundering

Michael Self also pleads guilty to criminal use of personal ID

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office booking photo of Michael Self

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The former executive director of the Jacksonville Public Library Foundation was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the State Attorney's Office said. 

Michael Self was arrested in October on charges of fraud, money laundering and criminal use of personal identification. On Tuesday, Self, 47, pleaded guilty to those charges and was sentenced to a decade behind bars, a spokesman for the State Attorney's Office said.

Recommended Videos



The spokesman told News4Jax that Self had nothing to say to the judge before the sentence was passed. 

According to an arrest warrant, Self was embezzling funds from various JPLF bank accounts and funneled the money into accounts he set up for himself. The warrant states he used the money for vacations, concert tickets, restaurant tabs, student loan payments, car repairs and doctors’ bills.

Prosecutors said Self stole $305,000 from the foundation from January 2017 to October 2018.

He will have to make full restitution. 

JPLF is a nonprofit organization that raises donations for the Jacksonville Public Library.