Tennessee state senator’s trial on theft charges begins
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Jury selection started Monday in the trial of a Tennessee state senator charged with stealing more than $600,000 in federal funds received by a health care school she directed and using the money for her wedding and other personal expenses.
State Sen. Katrina Robinson was charged in July 2020 with wire fraud, and theft and embezzlement involving government programs, after the FBI searched the school and her home. She has pleaded not guilty.
The Memphis Democrat was elected to the General Assembly in 2018. She was accused of stealing funds from federal grants slated for The Healthcare Institute, which provides training for jobs in the health care field.
The school, which Robinson directed, received more than $2.2 million in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.