Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who served on the board of University of Maryland Medical System for 18 years, was indicted on charges of wire fraud and tax evasion related to a children's book scandal that involved the Baltimore-based health system and Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, a local CBS affiliate reports.
The indictment was unsealed Nov. 20, ahead of Ms. Pugh's scheduled hearing on Nov. 21. If convicted, Ms. Pugh could face up to 100 years in prison and be required to forfeit her home and repay more than $769,000 allegedly obtained through the scheme.
The indictment alleges Ms. Pugh conspired with city employees to defraud buyers of her Healthy Holly children's books, according to CBS, which published the indictment in full. It alleges Ms. Pugh arranged five $100,000 deals with UMMS to donate a total of 100,000 books to Baltimore public schools. The books were allegedly never delivered, and instead rerouted to alternate storage facilities around the city, distributed at campaign events and double-sold to other customers.
The indictment also alleges Ms. Pugh used Healthy Holly profits to fund straw donations to her mayoral campaign and to buy a house in Baltimore. She also faces allegations of tax evasion related to Healthy Holly sales, according to the report.
CBS notes Kaiser Permanente also disclosed buying $114,000 of the books at a time that overlaps with winning a $48 million contract from the city, according to the report.
The two city officials connected to the scheme pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion, according to the report.
Read the full story and access the full indictment here.
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