A district court judge in Harris County has been suspended after she was indicted on federal wire fraud charges for allegedly misspending campaign donations.
Judge Alexandra Smoots-Thomas, 44, will be removed from her bench without pay until the State Commission on Judicial Conduct determines otherwise, the oversight board announced Tuesday.
A federal grand jury on Oct. 24 returned a seven-count indictment against Smoots-Thomas, who presides over the 164th District Court and has jurisdiction over civil cases within Harris County. Her indictment was unsealed on Friday.
The federal corruption charges accuse her of misusing $24,892 in campaign funds for personal expenses, including a home mortgage, private school tuition, a Prada handbag and a ring from Zales. Each of these purchases was made using a debit card connected to the JP Morgan Chase account the judge used for her campaign, according to the charges.
The indictment alleges the judge solicited the campaign contributions for her re-election bids in 2012 and 2016, and filed false campaign finance reports to the Texas Ethics Commission to hide her crimes, prosecutors said.
Smoots-Thomas turned herself in on Friday to U.S. Magistrate Peter Bray, and was released on bond.
Smoots-Thomas could face a possible sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison as well as a maximum $250,000 fine.
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