Jury begins deliberating in Tennessee state senator's trial

A jury has begun deliberating in the trial of a Tennessee state senator who has already been acquitted of 15 of 20 charges alleging she misused federal grant money awarded to a health care school she operated

A jury began deliberating Thursday in the trial of a Tennessee state senator who has already been acquitted of 15 of 20 charges alleging she misused federal grant money awarded to a health care school she operated.

The 12-person jury started the process of deciding whether state Sen. Katrina Robinson is guilty of wire fraud after prosecutors accused her of using federal funds awarded to the school she founded in Memphis for personal expenses.

Robinson, a Memphis Democrat elected to the Tennessee General Assembly in 2018, was charged in July 2020 with wire fraud as well as theft and embezzlement involving government programs after the FBI searched the school and her home.

Prosecutors alleged she stole federal grant money awarded to The Healthcare Institute, which provides training in the health care field, including nursing assistant jobs in geriatric care.

The school received more than $2.2 million in federal grants from the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The federal grant money was earmarked for student scholarships from 2015 through 2019.

During the trial, prosecutors attempted to prove Robinson used more than $600,000 in grant money to pay for personal expenses such as her wedding and honeymoon, a Jeep Renegade for her daughter, travel and entertainment for her family, a snow cone business for her children and an event for her state Senate campaign.

Defense attorneys countered, arguing Robinson did not use government funds to pay for personal expenses. Rather, Robinson used profits generated from tuition payments to the Memphis school and other income, her lawyers said.

In an unexpected development, U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman on Sunday acquitted Robinson of 15 charges of fraud, theft and embezzlement involving government programs. Defense attorneys had filed a motion to dismiss the charges, arguing that prosecutors didn’t prove allegations that Robinson used the federal grant funds on personal expenses.

Robinson still faces five wire fraud charges. She has maintained her innocence since she was indicted, and she took the stand in her defense. Robinson, who is also a nurse and a single mother of two, was questioned about the school's expenses, student enrollment and scholarships.