JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Katrina Brown and Reginald Brown were back in federal court for the first day of what could be a three-day sentencing hearing.
A year after they were each convicted of more than 30 counts, the Browns—who are not related— are days away from learning how much time they could spend in federal prison.
Three defense witnesses were called by Katrina Brown’s attorney. He said they could prove Brown didn’t do anything wrong—a claim previously rejected by a 12-member jury.
Reginald Brown, former Jacksonville city councilman said he wasn’t nervous going into Tuesday’s hearing.
“Absolutely not, I’m standing on the rock,” he said.
Inside the court, Katrina Brown’s attorney spent the day arguing for leniency. Curtis Fallgatter called witnesses including Katrina Brown’s father Jerome Brown, who recently suffered a stroke.
Katrina Brown appeared emotional during her father’s testimony, in which he said what the government called fraud was his daughter’s legitimate attempt to make the family barbecue sauce business a success.
Prosecutors say Katrina Brown wrote fake invoices to defraud the city of Jacksonville and the federal government of tens of thousands of dollars.
In their sentencing memo, prosecutors wrote: “when local politicians engage in such behavior, society expects courts to imprison them.”
Katrina Brown and Reginald Brown were both convicted for taking that money intended for the business and funneled it into Reginald Brown’s shell companies, creating fraudulent invoices to pretend the government’s money was being spent properly.
Both of the Browns are asking for probation.
During the lunch break, Reginald Brown says he is not sure if he’ll take the stand. He said since the indictment two years ago, it has been difficult but is appreciative of his family’s support.
Katrina Brown echoed the same statement ahead of Tuesday’s hearing.