A former Maryland state lawmaker has been sentenced to six months in prison followed by two months of home detention for misusing campaign funds for her personal benefit.
Tawanna Gaines, a former Maryland delegate, arrives at the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., for a hearing, Friday, Jan. 3, 2020. Gaines, a Democrat who served in the Maryland House of Delegates since 2001 before resigning in 2019, is scheduled to be sentenced after pleading guilty to a charge that she illegally used campaign funds for her personal benefit.
Gaines, 67, of Berwyn Heights, pleaded guilty in October to one count of wire fraud. She faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but federal sentencing guidelines called for a range of eight to 14 months. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang wasn’t bound by those guidelines when he sentenced Gaines, who must report to prison by Feb. 24.“I took my oath very seriously, but I fell short,” she said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Windom has said Gaines spent campaign money on personal expenses including fast food, hair styling, dental work, a cover for her swimming pool and an Amazon Prime membership. The prosecutor, who recommended an eight-month prison sentence, said Gaines made more than 200 illegal withdrawals of money over three years, but it added up to a relatively modest amount.
Since June 2002, Gaines had used a campaign committee called"Friends of Tawanna P. Gaines" to raise money for her political campaigns. It was a regulated state election campaign committee with a designated bank account. Separately, Gaines controlled a PayPal account for donations that weren't disclosed in state campaign finance filings, a court filing said.
Gov. Larry Hogan appointed a new delegate, attorney Nicole Williams, to replace Gaines and represent District 22 in Prince George’s County. Before the sentencing hearing, Gaines' attorney submitted more than a dozen “character letters” from her supporters, including Jones. “I have always admired the way that, as important as her political life was, her family was always of paramount importance,” Jones wrote.
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