The trial of state Sen. Katrina Robinson, accused of theft and fraud from her business The Healthcare Institute, is slated to begin Monday, Sept. 13.

Judge denies change of venue request for Robinson trial

Robinson, 40, a state senator for District 33, which includes South Memphis and Southeast Memphis, has pleaded innocent to the federal charges of theft or bribery in programs receiving federal funds, wire fraud and forfeiture.

Prosecutors allege Robinson stole from her business by taking $600,000 in federal grant funding for her school and using it for personal expenses, including her wedding, her divorce, designer purses, trips, a car for her daughter and other items.

The trial is expected to last two weeks.

The trial will take place at the Odell Horton Federal Building in Downtown Memphis after U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl Lipman denied a change-of-venue motion by the prosecution seeking to move the trial to Jackson, Tennessee.

Prosecutors argued during a Sept. 3 hearing that the trial needed to be transferred because of pretrial publicity and alleged threats from Robinson’s supporters to “pack” the courtroom.

Lipman, during the hearing on the change of venue, said: “Just looking at the matter and looking at the law, it doesn’t strike me as the amount of pretrial publicity rises to the level of taking what is an extraordinary step, moving this out of the jurisdiction in which the matter arises or excluding the citizens of this jurisdiction from this part of the district from hearing the matter.”

Lipman told all parties that if there were issues with publicity during jury selection then she would revisit the change-of-venue request and dismissed the motion without prejudice to move the trial.

Prosecutors in Katrina Robinson case ask judge to move trial out of Memphis

The judge did issue a gag order, prohibiting all parties from speaking with the media or on social media about the case.

Before the gag order, after an Aug. 20 hearing, Robinson and her attorneys spoke to the media briefly about the case. She explained why she felt the accusations lodged against her were racially and politically motivated. 

“I’ve been criminalized for something that normally wouldn’t be a criminal activity,” she said about the theft and fraud charges. “All I’ve done is try to expand our business, run our business in the best way possible. To grant new opportunities for our students.”

Robinson, a registered nurse, opened The Healthcare Institute in 2015, a school to train people to work in the health care industry. She applied for and received a $2.2 million federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) from 2015 to 2019 to train students at her school.

More charges against state Sen. Katrina Robinson possible, prosecutor says

On July 29, 2020, Robinson was indicted and charged with using the federal grant money intended for THI on herself and her family.

According to the indictment, Robinson allegedly bought herself a $550 Louis Vuitton handbag, hair and beauty products, clothing, home electronics, and numerous other items over the years. She is accused of spending the money on a trip to Jamaica, a $5,000 wrought-iron door for her home, a 2016 Jeep Renegade for her daughter, expenses related to her own wedding and honeymoon, and legal fees associated with her divorce, prosecutors said.

According to the indictment, the investigation into Robinson was launched by the FBI after an anonymous tip reported to the FBI that alleged Robinson bought the Louis Vuitton handbag with grant funding.

Robinson and her attorney, Larry Laurenzi, a former U.S. attorney, contend as director of the for-profit corporation, her school, Robinson could spend the profits like the CEO of another business without any stipulations on the spending.

If convicted, Robinson faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

After this trial, Robinson also faces other fraud charges in a separate case involving her school. Robinson and two co-defendants — Katie Ayers and Brooke Boudreaux — are charged with wire fraud and money laundering, along with accusations of swindling a man out of $14,470 to pay for Boudreaux’s tuition at The Healthcare Institute.

A report hearing has been set for Oct. 14 in this case. No trial has been set.