A Harris County judge is facing federal charges that accuse her of using campaign donations for personal expenses, including for mortgage payments, private school tuition and travel.
Judge Alexandra Smoots-Thomas, 44, is charged with wire fraud charges, according to federal prosecutors. She turned herself in to U.S. Magistrate Peter Bray, appearing before him with chains wrapped around her waist and ankles.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the magistrate set a pre-trial conference for Jan. 6.
Wearing a gray and black suit, she kept her head down for most of the arraignment. Smoots-Thomas has breast cancer, and had a round of chemotherapy on Thursday, attorney Kent Schaffer said.
Schaffer denied the charges after the proceeding, alleging that the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under Ryan Patrick, was targeting Smoots-Thomas because she is a black female Democrat.
“She has not defrauded anybody,” he said.
Patrick’s office has been contacted for comment on Schaffer’s allegations.
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. The indictment was unsealed on Friday.
“The defendant in this case is a judge, whose responsibilities are to make sure the law is followed and carried out,” Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI – Houston Division said in a news release Friday morning. “She was entrusted to serve the citizens of Harris County with duty and honor.
However, the allegations contained in today’s indictment show that the judge put personal enrichment over this duty and honor.”
The indictment alleges Smoots-Thomas of soliciting campaign contributions on the premise the money would be used to help facilitate her re-election campaigns in 2012 and 2016, prosecutors said. She concealed the expenses from her campaign treasurer and the Texas Ethics Commission by filing false campaign finance reports, according to the charges.
Scott Krist, a Houston attorney who is among the judge’s top contributors since 2012, called the allegations “a little bit disturbing.”
“I have a strong interest in getting an ethical judiciary on the bench in Harris County, and I do give generously to these races,” Krist said. “I am very disheartened to hear about that. That breaches every duty one could imagine to the voters, much less their donors.”
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