Louisiana politician Karen Carter Peterson, who has been battling gambling addiction, was supercharged with wire fraudulence on Thursday. She reportedly in agreement(p) to a plea deal on the charge.
Peterson, 52, of New Orleans, used take the field money for gambling-related and other personal expenses, according to a financial statement from Louisiana US Attorney Duane A. Evans.
In a scheme lasting tight to 7 years, Peterson allegedly wrote checks on a cause calculate to friends and associates. The friends and associates would cash in the checks and render the money back to Peterson, prosecutors said.
Also, spell LA Democratic Party chair, checks were written to several companies. But the companies “provided either no or minimum services” to the party, prosecutors said. Peterson instead directed the companies to issue some of the money endorse to her, prosecutors add.
If convicted, she faces a upper limit of 20 years in prison house and a amercement of up to $250,000. She also could live placed on supervised tone ending for upward to threesome years after leaving prison.
Peterson has agreed to a plea arrangement on the charge, her attorney, Brian Capitelli, told The Times-Picayune/The New siege of Orleans Advocate. It is unclear if the plea trade includes prison house time.
Repays Money
On Wednesday, she paid backrest $50,000 to the state’s Democratic Party after allegedly improperly using the run money. She also has apologized.
This past tense April, when stepping down feather from her political post, she proclaimed she had gotten inpatient and outpatient treatment for imprint and addiction. She also took to societal media to percentage her remorse for her actions and relapse.
“She is unfeignedly remorseful for her compulsive behavior resulting from this dependence and has made good repayment of cash in hand used as a termination of her addiction,” Capitelli of late told The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. “She has been forthright, honest, and co-op with the US Attorney’s Office in their investigation.”
News nigh her gaming dependance was revealed trey years ago. In 2019, Peterson was issued a process for violating a self-imposed banning on entering a casino, WWL, a local TV station, reported. She had entered the L’Auberge Baton Rouge despite putting her own gens on the exclusion list.
Political Career
Peterson was in the Louisiana country senate for a dozen years before stepping downwards earliest this year. For 10 years, she was a representative in the tell house. Last year, she missed a closelipped congressional rush to Republican Troy Carter. She also was Louisiana Democratic Party chair 'tween 2012 and 2020.
On the national stage, Peterson was a vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee betwixt 2017 and 2021.
In connectedness with her role on the province Senate’s Judiciary Committee, Peterson had an influential role inward gambling-related legislation. Legislation that came before her included bills on sports betting, relocating water-based casinos onto land, picture salamander rules, and peregrine fantasy sports games, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported.