Ex-Lawmaker's Campaign Treasurer Gets Probation For Fraud
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — The treasurer and daughter of a former Maryland lawmaker has been sentenced to probation for misusing her mother's campaign funds.
Anitra Edmond pleaded guilty in November to converting more than $35,000 in campaign funds for her personal use from November of 2012 through June of 2018 and failing to disclose contributions on state campaign finance reports. In a plea agreement, Edmond says she used the money for fast food, hair styling, personal phone bills and rent for a separate business.
U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced her Monday to three years' probation, with eight months to be served on home detention, court records show. He also ordered her to pay more than $35,000 in restitution.
Former Del. Tawanna Gaines, a Prince George's County Democrat, pleaded guilty to a related charge of wire fraud and was sentenced to six months in prison followed by two months of home detention. She admitted to converting more than $22,000 in campaign money for her personal use.
Gaines had served in the Maryland House of Delegates since 2001. She resigned days before she was charged in a criminal information.
Edmond, who was 43 when she was charged in October, had been treasurer of "Friends of Tawanna P. Gaines," her mother's campaign committee, since 2005.
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