Katrina Robinson, a former state senator from Tennessee, was recently resentful after a conviction that had previously been overturned was reinstated. The 43-year-old lawmaker from Memphis was first convicted of wire fraud related to embezzled federal grant funds. Robinson was given a time-served sentence and ordered to pay a substantial $48,600 fine in a ruling rendered by Chief United States District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman.
According to information provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, Robinson’s misrepresentations to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) are precisely the subject of the fine. These false statements were made in an attempt to keep government funds flowing to Robinson’s for-profit college, The Healthcare Institute (THI), which was awarded more than $2.2 million in HRSA grants from 2015 to 2019.
The 2021 jury’s conclusions that Robinson had taken money out of THI’s operating account to pay for her wedding and other personal costs reflected the concerns raised. The falsification on the 2017 and 2018 Annual Performance Review forms, however, was more serious. The government presented proof that, although 215 students being officially listed as recipients of scholarships during the 2017–2018 cycle, only 161 actually did.
The district court first rejected this disparity, which resulted in an acquittal on the associated fraud charges. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit subsequently decided to overturn this ruling and maintain the original guilty finding in accordance with Count 19. BehavingAccording to U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren, the appellate court determined that Robinson had deceived HRSA “with the intent to deprive HRSA of grant funds and to induce HRSA to continue funding Robinson’s organization.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation carried out the investigation that resulted in Robinson’s imprisonment. Acting U.S. Attorney Fondren also commended Assistant United States Attorneys Chris Cotten, Scott Smith, and Raney Irwin for prosecuting the case in the district court, as well as Naya Bedini for handling the appeal with AUSA Cotten and the law enforcement partners who participated in the investigation.
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