Democrat Head Sentenced To 22 Months!

On Wednesday, Karen Carter Peterson, former Louisiana state senator and chair of the state’s Democratic Party, received a 22-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to federal wire fraud.

Peterson resigned from the Louisiana state Senate in April 2022, citing poor mental health and struggles with a gambling addiction.

Afterward, an investigation found that Peterson gambled with stolen campaign funds.

The 53-year-old confessed in August to stealing over $140,000 from her 2019 reelection campaign and the Louisiana Democratic party’s funding.

Karen Carter Peterson has entered court and is awaiting sentencing for a federal wire fraud charge. https://t.co/jdeAXZ9uEF pic.twitter.com/CEEOpHQtJf

— wdsu (@wdsu) January 11, 2023

BREAKING: Former Senator Karen Carter Peterson was sentenced to 22 months in prison. She pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge. Peterson admitted to using campaign and Louisiana Democratic Party funds to feed her gambling addiction. https://t.co/r2xzu8vyKi pic.twitter.com/sHQFNKm3HO

— WWL-TV (@WWLTV) January 11, 2023

https://twitter.com/ellencarmichael/status/1613233895993925647

WDSU reported:

Former state Sen. Karen Carter Peterson was charged in federal court Thursday on a bill of information which is an indication she is cooperating and will eventually plead guilty to a charge in connection with an investigation into her finances.

Peterson is facing one count of wire fraud in connection with accusations of raiding her campaign fund and using the money on gambling.

Peterson, a New Orleans-based Democrat, abruptly resigned from the state legislature in April.

Days after her resignation, WDSU Investigates confirmed Peterson was being investigated by the federal government.

According to a news release issued by the Department of Justice, Peterson is accused of having friends and associates divert campaign funds from her campaign back to her for personal use.

Peterson is accused of writing checks out of her campaign fund to her friends and associates, who would then cash the checks and return most or all of the money back to her.

The bill of information says Peterson used the money to pay gambling-related expenses.

She is also accused of misappropriating funds while chair of a state political party.

Peterson was chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party for over seven years.

U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance ordered Peterson to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on March 6th.

“Peterson is a member of a prominent New Orleans political family whose father, Ken Carter, was a founder of the BOLD political organization and assessor for the city’s First Municipal District,” NOLA.com noted.

“Peterson spent more than 22 years in the Legislature representing Uptown, and served as chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party from 2013 through 2020.”

She ran for Congress twice, losing both races.

Peterson’s lawyers requested Judge Vance to keep her out of prison and sentence her to probation or home confinement due to “diminished mental capacity” caused by her gambling addiction.

Vance’s sentence, 22 months, was roughly half of the 41- to 51-month term called for in federal sentencing guidelines.

Further details from NOLA.com:

In her plea, Peterson admitted to stealing $147,357 from her 2019 re-election campaign account as well as the account of the state Democratic Party over a period of seven years. She worked with at least six accomplices who cashed checks she wrote to them – purportedly for campaign services – and then returned most of the proceeds to her, prosecutors have said.

None of those people have been charged, nor does it appear they will be.

The court scolded Peterson for her “betrayal of the public trust and exploitation of the awesome power she wielded as a candidate for public office and leader of a major political party to seek personal pecuniary gain.”