'Bogus' charity president, alleged co-conspirator takes stand in Corrine Brown trial

She was the first to plead guilty in connection to the case, and now, she’s the first of the alleged co-conspirators to take the stand.

Carla Wiley was the President of One Door For Education -- a group to honor Wiley’s mother, Amy Anderson, through scholarships and other opportunities for students pursuing a future in the education field.

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Wiley is one of three people who have been accused of representing that group as a non-profit and soliciting more than $800,000 in donations over several years, but allegedly using the money for personal expenses, travel, and events instead. The other two are now-former Congresswoman Corrine Brown and her Chief of Staff Ronnie Simmons, who was dating Wiley.

Both Wiley and Simmons have already pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government, as Brown now stands trial.

Wiley says the day before the FBI visited her office for their initial interview in January 2016, she was on a call with Brown, Simmons, and Brown’s daughter Shantrel, where they told her she did not need to speak with the FBI. Wiley says investigators were at her office about two hours the next day, and she lied about One Door’s charitable activity and how the money was being spent. She says she then got a lawyer, and soon agreed to cooperate with the government.

Wiley says she had offered up One Door to Simmons- who she was dating at the time- when Simmons mentioned that he needed a non-profit to host an event for Brown. She says she gave Simmons the checks and debit card for One Door, believing that he would manage the funds correctly. After she gave up the checks and debit card, she says she could only access the bank account online or in person at the bank.

She told the court Simmons would frequently forge her name on checks from One Door. In fact, of the two scholarships that were ever given by One Door, Wiley says the first- a $1,000 check from her personal account, was legitimate. The second check- for $200 from the One Door account- was signed by Wiley, but Wiley says it was in Simmons’ handwriting and she hadn’t been aware of the check until it was shown to her as the result of this investigation.

Of the events that allegedly used One Door funding, Wiley says she did not see any promotion or discussion of scholarship opportunities and money.

Brown’s defense is putting all of the blame for what happened on Simmons and Wiley. Brown’s attorney, James Smith III, says Brown became increasingly dependent on Simmons to handle her travel, finances, and more, and Simmons betrayed that trust.

Wiley was the first to plead guilty back in March 2016. Brown and Simmons were indicted in July 2016.

Wiley was charged by information for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud- a count to which she pleaded guilty. She could face up to twenty years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but is hoping for leniency as a result of her cooperation with the government.

In response to questioning by the prosecution, Wiley admitted to the fraud. She also confirmed that, while she was hoping that cooperating with the government would lead them to recommend a more lenient sentence, there was no promise made.

Simmons is expected to testify later this week. He also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of his plea agreement. He was indicted on 19 charges and pleaded guilty to two- conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and theft of government funds. He could be sentenced to twenty years in prison for the conspiracy charge and ten years for the theft charge.

During the jury selection process, the panel was told to carefully consider the testimony of anyone who accepted a plea deal, because they are hoping to gain favor with the government. They were also instructed, however, that plea bargaining in itself is an accepted and allowable practice.

Brown is facing 22 charges, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, aiding and abetting mail fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, scheme to conceal material facts, corrupt endeavor to obstruct and impede the due administration of internal revenue law, and filing false tax returns. If convicted on all counts, she could be sentenced to more than 350 years in prison.

The jury must be unanimous to either convict or acquit Brown on the charges.

Cox Media Group