State representative charged with wire fraud, failure to file federal income tax returns

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Florida state representative has been indicted on federal charges of wire fraud and failure to file federal income tax returns.

Reginald Fullwood, 41, of Jacksonville, was indicted on Friday. He is charged with 10 counts of wire fraud and four counts of failure to file federal income tax returns. Fullwood pleaded not guilty on Friday afternoon.

Fullwood is a Democratic member of the Florida. He represents the 13th District, which includes parts of central Duval County.

Fullwood is charged with four counts of willful failure to file personal federal income tax returns for calendar years 2010 through 2013. He is accused of using approximately $65,000 in financial contributions for personal expenditures, including restaurants, grocery stores, retail stores, jewelry stores, florists, gas stations and liquor stores.

Fullwood submitted false and fraudulent campaign expenditure reports to the State of Florida, including inflated and/or nonexistent campaign expenses, prosecutors said.

A candidate or spouse can't use funds  from a campaign account to defray normal living expenses for the candidate or the candidate’s family, other than expenses incurred for transportation, meals and lodging during travel in the course of the campaign.

Fullwood hasn't filed a personal federal income tax return for the 2010 through 2013 calendar years, according to prosecutors.

“Public officials, whether elected or appointed, hold positions of trust in the eyes of the public. That trust is broken when these officials commit crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge Kim Lappin, IRS-Tampa field office. “No public official gets a free pass to ignore the tax laws, and IRS-CI works to ensure that everyone pays their fair share.”

Fullwood faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud offense, and a year in prison on each failure-to-file charge.

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