Ex-Baltimore mayor charged in ‘Healthy Holly’ book scandal
BALTIMORE — The disgraced former mayor of Baltimore was charged Wednesday with fraud and tax evasion involving sales of her self-published children’s books to nonprofits and foundations that did business with the government.
An 11-count federal indictment accuses Catherine Pugh of arranging fraudulent sales of her “Healthy Holly” books to schools, libraries and a medical system to enrich herself, promote her political career and fund her run for mayor.
“There are many victims in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Hur in announcing the indictment. “The victims are all of us, the taxpayers and the people of Baltimore, who expect and deserve integrity from their public officials.”
Federal authorities say Pugh and two city employees double-sold the books or failed to deliver them to institutions they were purchased for, including the Baltimore City Public Schools. Pugh then allegedly used the proceeds to fund straw donations to her mayoral campaign and to renovate a house.
Pugh, who has been in seclusion since early April, is expected to surrender to U.S. marshals ahead of her arraignment Thursday in Baltimore. She’ll appear before U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion.
The grand jury indictment returned Nov. 14 also charged two Pugh associates, Gary Brown, Jr., and Roslyn Wedington, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax fraud.
Hur described the alleged crimes as a yearslong “ruse” involving “funny documents” including faked federal tax forms and invoices, and companies that did no actual work.
If convicted, Pugh faces up to 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count and five years for each tax evasion count.
The federal government also will seek to seize a house owned by Pugh and $770,000 as part of any sentence.
Pugh’s attorney, Steven Silverman, declined to comment, saying he’ll address the allegations in open court.
Pugh, 69, resigned in May as federal, state and local authorities probed whether she arranged bulk book sales to disguise political kickbacks that netted her hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. The books were meant for schools and day care centers, but it’s unclear where tens of thousands of copies ended up.
Asked whether he views the buyers of the books as victims or co-conspirators, Hur said people can “rest assured that we are continuing to look at all the potential criminal charges that could be brought.”