Kwame Brown, former Washington D.C. Council Chairman, pled guilty on June 8 to charges of felony bank fraud, plus other misdemeanors. The politician made a statement Friday, according to the Washington Post, saying, "I have worked every day on behalf of the people and have done it wholeheartedly. But six years ago, I made some very serious mistakes and judgments."
In the first of two court appearances just hours apart, a subdued Brown admitted that he committed a federal felony when he forged a name on one loan document and then switched a "3" to an "8" on another to inflate his salary. The charge of bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, but under federal guidelines spelled out in his plea deal, he faces far less punishment — up to six months in jail — when he is sentenced Sept. 20. The guidelines are not binding on U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, who can sentence Brown to more time behind bars.
Brown, who agreed to cooperate with investigators and remains free pending sentencing, then went to D.C. Superior Court and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of violating a city campaign statute that prohibits cash expenditures in excess of $50. He faces up to six months in jail on that charge.
Read more at the Washington Post.