Grand jury indictment alleges state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta, misappropriated charity funds
Lawmaker says he and other are 'close to proving federal involvement' in Moore's Ford Bridge lynching
- JIm Stawniak/CL File
- State Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta
A federal grand jury today indicted state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta, a longtime lawmaker and civils rights activist, for mail, wire, and tax fraud.
U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said the 30-count indictment accuses Brooks, who's served under the Gold Dome since 1993, of misappropriating nearly $1 million in donations he solicited for two charitable organizations. Brooks told CL today that the indictment is linked to his efforts to solve a decades-old lynching.
One of the charitable organizations mentioned in the indictment, Universal Humanities Inc., was aimed at combating illiteracy. Yates said the state lawmaker received nearly $800,000 in donations from such companies as Coca-Cola, Georgia-Pacific, and individuals to spend on teaching programs and hiring tutors.
"In reality, there was no staff," Yates said. "There was no mentoring or tutoring going on. There were no literacy programs being conducted."
Brooks instead allegedly used the cash to pay personal expenses. home repairs, furniture, lawn service, health insurance, dry cleaning, electronic equipment, and other personal purchases.
Yates said the indictment also alleges the lawmaker diverted nearly $300,000 in donations that Brooks solicited for the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, which he operated, to an undisclosed account he opened in the mid-1990s. He also used those funds to pay for personal expenses, she said.