JACKSONVILLE, Fla — RELATED: Katrina Brown gets 33-month sentence, Reggie Brown 18 months for fake invoice scam
Former Jacksonville City Council members Katrina Brown and Reginald Brown received their sentences for dozens of convictions including wire fraud and mail fraud on Thursday.
Katrina Brown will serve 33 months, or two years and nine months in prison followed by a five-year probation period.
She is also ordered to pay restitution to BizCapital and the city of Jacksonville, from whom she received loan money to expand her family barbecue sauce business. The expansion was supposed to create 56 jobs in Northwest Jacksonville but no jobs were ever created.
After the hearing, her attorney Curtis Fallgatter said they were glad the judge was lenient but plan to appeal the sentence nevertheless.
Katrina Brown said she wanted to thank her supporters who have stuck by her.
“I just want to thank my supporters, people who supported me from day one. I want everyone to know that there is more good things and great things to come, we’re going to work hard to put Jerome Brown BBQ Sauce on every shelf in Jacksonville and in the United States,” Katrina Brown said.
Reginald Brown will serve 18 months in prison followed by a three-year probation period. He is also ordered to pay restitution and file a 2014 tax return with the IRS, which Brown was charged with failing to do in this fraud and conspiracy scandal.
After the hearing, Reginald Brown did not answer questions but his attorney Alan Ceballos said they were glad the judge was lenient.
“He’ll serve a small amount of time and will be eligible for an appeal bond. So we’re gratified the judge decided this was not a crime of public corruption, she took into account all the mitigating factors that were presented yesterday in the courtroom and went beneath the sentencing range,” Ceballos said.
“His role as a City Councilman had nothing to do with accepting the loan at all,” Ceballos added.
District Judge Marcia Morales Howard said Katrina Brown was more culpable than Reginald Brown in the scheme to defraud and write fake invoices for loans received for the barbecue business—and said it was clear Ms. Brown knew what she was doing and knew it was wrong.
By law, both defendants have 14 days to appeal their sentence.