Former Prince George’s County Council member Mel Franklin pleaded guilty on Aug. 26 to two charges for using over $130,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses, 10 days after Council Chair Jolene Ivey (D-District 5) was officially declared the Democratic nominee for the seat he previously held.
Franklin was said to use the funds for international vacations and cosmetic surgery, along with falsifying campaign finance records.
Franklin now owes $133,000 in restitution to his campaign fund, which will be donated to charity, and he agreed to a sentence of one year in prison. He will be officially sentenced on Nov. 13.
“Elected officials should be held accountable if they violate the public trust and exploit the Maryland electoral process for personal financial gain,” said Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard, III. “I’m proud of our office’s hard work in uncovering this extensive fraud.”
Ivey received 29,578 votes, roughly 47.5% of the vote, in the special election held on Aug. 6 to replace Franklin. She is widely expected to win the general election, given the strong Democratic lean of Prince George’s voters.
The roughly 63,000 votes in the special election exceeded the roughly 54,000 votes in May’s presidential primary.
Michael Riker, a retired police officer from Cheltenham, received nearly half the vote in the Republican primary for the at-large seat and will be on the special general election ballot.
The special general election will be held on Nov. 5, the same day as the general election for the presidential, congressional, and Board of Education races.