Two suspended Jacksonville City Council members accused of fraud will get court-appointed attorneys

Jacksonville, FL — Both of the now-suspended Jacksonville City Council members indicted for fraud, money laundering, and other charges will be represented by court-appointed attorneys.

Reggie Brown had previously been granted a court-appointed counsel because of financial hardship. Katrina Brown asked for more time to try to line up an attorney, but Curtis Fallgatter- who represented Brown in the initial proceedings- now says he will not continue to represent her. The judge ruled during a Thursday hearing that she could not afford an attorney.

“Some problems have developed and it’s not fair to Ms. Brown or to the court to not let the case proceed,” Fallgatter says, adding those problems were financial, and that Brown couldn’t pull the resources together.

The court has found that Katrina Brown’s debts are greater than her assets, but she will be required to contribute to her court-appointed counsel. The judge ordered Brown deposit $1,000 by July 30, and then pay $100 each month starting on August 30.

Thomas Bell was previously appointed to represent Reggie Brown, who has also been ordered to contribute toward paying for counsel. The federal court docket shows Darcy Galnor has been appointed to represent Katrina Brown.

Both defendants will be back in court Monday for an arraignment.

Both Katrina Brown and Reggie Brown were indicted last month on a combined 38 charges. The allegations deal with a US Small Business Administration-backed loan for the BBQ sauce business of one of Katrina Brown’s relatives. Brown allegedly concealed that the business was struggling, and Reggie Brown is accused of creating shell businesses in order to bill the BBQ business for services that were never provided. By having those invoices, Katrina Brown was able to continue drawing down on the loan. The US Attorney’s Office further alleges that Brown was able to trigger City of Jacksonville funding because of the inflated numbers from the fake business invoices. She’s further accused of using falsified bank statements and information to try to get two bank loans.

In addition to his alleged role in the fraud scheme, Reggie Brown is accused of not filing a tax return one year and of not disclosing his income from the SBA loan payouts to the IRS.

Both defendants have asserted their innocence in either brief statements around the court proceedings or through their attorneys. Fallgatter says Katrina Brown had every intention of running a successful business, and that she was constantly investing in it.

Following the indictment, both Democratic City Council members were immediately removed from Committee assignments by the City Council President. Florida Governor Rick Scott then suspended them from office, pending the ongoing federal case. Speaking around Thursday's hearing, Reggie Brown says he has no intention to resign his seat.

“You only resign if you’re guilty, and I’m not guilty,” he says.

They have both been allowed to remain out of custody pending the proceedings, as long as they abide by court guidelines, which include restricting their travel to the continental US.