JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Former Jacksonville City Councilmembers Katrina Brown and Reginald Brown will remain in prison while they appeal their fraud convictions, a federal judge ruled Monday.
U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Luck denied a motion for release pending appeal. Both Browns, who are not related, are serving sentences related to their October 2019 convictions of defrauding the government of loans and grants intended to create jobs at Katrina Brown's family barbecue sauce business. No jobs were ever created.
Earlier this month, District Judge Marcia Morales Howard denied a request by Katrina and Reginald Brown to remain free pending the appeal of their convictions, which Howard denied. She ordered them to report to prison.
Katrina Brown was sentenced to 33 months in prison for 37 counts including conspiracy, aiding and abetting mail fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, aiding and abetting money laundering, attempted bank fraud and making false statements to financial institutions.
Reginald Brown was sentenced to 18 months in prison for 33 counts including conspiracy, aiding and abetting mail fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, aiding and abetting money laundering and failure to file federal taxes.
When Howard sentenced both Browns, she said although Katrina Brown knew what she was doing and knew it was wrong, she doesn't believe either of the Browns are bad people.
After the sentence, Katrina Brown said she was not done trying to promote her family business. “We're going to work hard to put Jerome Brown barbecue sauce on every shelf in Jacksonville and in the United States,” she said.
