NEW ORLEANS – The United States Lawyer’s Workplace introduced that former Louisiana State Senator and Chair of State Political Occasion “A,” KAREN CARTER PETERSON, age 53, from New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced right now by United States District Choose Sarah S. Vance to 22 months imprisonment after beforehand pleading responsible to a one-count invoice of knowledge charging her with wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and a couple of. Moreover, Choose Vance sentenced Peterson to serve a interval of three years of supervised launch, 600 hours of unpaid group service, restitution within the quantity of $53,106.93, a high-quality of $115,000, with $94,250 due instantly and a compulsory particular evaluation price of $100. PETERSON was ordered to report back to authorities to begin serving her jail sentence on March 6, 2023.
In response to court docket paperwork, PETERSON served as a Louisiana State Senator for the fifth District from about 2010 till about April 8, 2022, and because the Chair of State Political Occasion A between about 2012 and 2020. As a Louisiana State Senator, PETERSON fashioned and maintained a marketing campaign group, the “Karen Carter Peterson Marketing campaign Fund (“KCPCF”),” to solicit and lift marketing campaign funds from particular person and company donors. The marketing campaign funds had been solicited based mostly upon false representations that the funds could be used to facilitate PETERSON’S reelection for the place of State Senator. In the midst of soliciting marketing campaign donations, PETERSON additionally did not speak in confidence to potential contributors that she had already used prior contributions for her private profit.
In furtherance of her scheme, PETERSON diverted, and induced her mates and associates to divert, marketing campaign funds from the KCPCF to PETERSON’S private use for the aim of acquiring and utilizing cash and property from contributors to the KCPCF by way of materially false and fraudulent representations and guarantees for practically seven (7) years. She did so by writing checks drawn on the KCPCF account to a minimum of 4 (4) of her mates and associates and directing them to money the checks at monetary establishments within the New Orleans, Louisiana space after which to offer PETERSON the proceeds. Sometimes she allowed the people cashing the checks to maintain a small portion of the proceeds. PETERSON used the funds to pay for private bills unrelated to her marketing campaign or the holding of public workplace, together with to pay gambling-related bills. Additional, PETERSON induced the general public submitting of false and deceptive marketing campaign finance studies that mischaracterized expenditures as being for respectable functions associated to her marketing campaign or the holding of public workplace, however had been, the truth is, unrelated to such functions and, as an alternative, had been diverted to PETERSON’S private use. In whole, between about November 25, 2013, and March 5, 2020, PETERSON fraudulently employed the scheme on quite a few events to divert and convert to her private use roughly $94,250 that had been donated by contributors to her marketing campaign.
Moreover, in her position as Chair of State Political Occasion A, PETERSON oversaw the strategic decision-making, operations, outreach, and route of Occasion A and supervised its everlasting employees, together with people who had signatory authority of State Political Occasion A’s monetary accounts. PETERSON exploited her place to decide on entities (“Firms”) operated by her associates, purportedly to offer campaign-related companies to State Political Occasion A, and to find out the quantity that Occasion A would pay every of the Firms. PETERSON represented to State Political Occasion A that the funds had been for a marketing campaign objective. In actuality, the Firms supplied both no or minimal companies for State Political Occasion A. PETERSON then willfully and wrongfully directed the Firms to remit a portion of the funds paid to them by State Political Occasion A to PETERSON by means of both checks drawn on the accounts of the Firms or in money. In whole, between about October 7, 2019, and April 4, 2020, PETERSON acquired roughly $53,106.93 of funds from State Political Occasion A by means of this fraudulent scheme.
“Individuals have the appropriate to anticipate that their elected leaders will uphold the belief positioned in them,” stated the USA Lawyer’s Workplace. “Former State Senator Peterson illegally used marketing campaign funds and state political social gathering funds for her private use throughout nearly all of her tenure as a state senator. She broke the regulation, deceived contributors, and violated her responsibility to the voters and the political social gathering with which she was affiliated on dozens of events. Such crimes feed public frustration, cynicism, and civic disengagement. This case is proof that our workplace is dedicated to holding corrupt public officers accountable.”
“The FBI is dedicated to aggressively pursuing those that violate the belief positioned in them by the general public and holding them accountable for his or her actions. Right this moment’s sentencing sends a transparent message that people like former Louisiana State Senator Karen Carter Peterson, who stole cash to counterpoint herself, might be held accountable,” stated Douglas A. Williams, Jr., FBI New Orleans Particular Agent in Cost. “I wish to thank our companions at the USA Lawyer’s Workplace Japanese District of Louisiana, Inside Income Service – Felony Investigation, and Metropolitan Crime Fee for his or her robust partnerships in serving to the FBI disrupt public corruption in Louisiana.”
“As an elected official, Karen Peterson was anticipated to guide by instance and lookout for one of the best pursuits of her constituents,” stated James E. Dorsey, Particular Agent in Cost, IRS Felony Investigation, Atlanta Subject Workplace. “Nevertheless, Peterson diverted marketing campaign funds for private use. Right this moment’s sentencing proves regardless of an individual’s place or energy, when the general public’s belief is abused by means of unlawful means, they are going to be held accountable.”
The US Lawyer’s Workplace praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Inside Income Service – Felony Investigation, and Forensic Accountant Josephine M. Beninati, CPA, CFE on this matter. Assistant United States Lawyer Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Corruption Unit, is accountable for the prosecution.
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