Special to the News
Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that Frank Lewis Brown, a local political consultant, pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing funds earmarked for charity.
Brown pleaded guilty to one count of a Montgomery County indictment charging him with theft in the first degree in front of the Honorable Greg Griffin.
The convictions arise from Brown stealing Montgomery County Commission funds meant to go to a local charity where he served as a board member. The charity, which was set up to help women and children suffering from the effects of substance abuse and addiction, effectively went defunct around 2017.
Despite that the charity was no longer fully operational, Brown obtained $50,000 per year from the Montgomery County Commission for the charity between 2018 and 2023, totaling $350,000. In doing that, he represented to the Commission that the money would be used for the charity’s purpose.
However, instead of helping women and children as the Commission intended, Brown pocketed $246,670, more than two-thirds of that money.
“Stealing from a non-profit is a despicable betrayal of public trust,” Marshall stated. “Instead of using these funds to help those suffering from addiction, Frank Lewis Brown chose to line his own pockets. This kind of corruption will not be tolerated, and my office will continue to hold accountable those who exploit charitable causes for personal gain.”
General Marshall thanked the Assistant Attorneys General in the Special Prosecutions Division who prosecuted the case, Jasper B. Roberts Jr. and Alana K. Cammack.
