State Rep. Reggie Fullwood to stand trial

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The federal trial involving Florida state Rep. Reggie Fullwood will move forward.

On Monday in federal court, a judge denied Fullwood’s motion to dismiss the wire fraud charges he’s facing.

Fullwood had previously pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and failure to file federal income tax returns.

Action News Jax’s Michael Yoshida asked Rep. Fullwood about his campaign, the charges he’s facing and the judge’s denial of his motion to dismiss the case.

The motion centered on the question of whether the allegations were truly wire fraud.

Fullwood had argued there is no victim in his alleged crime, because donors give up claims to their money after giving to a campaign.

The U.S. attorney’s office called this line of reasoning “sadly mistaken” and the judge denied the motion, saying the indictment had sufficient material to move forward.

Fullwood is charged with four counts of failure to file federal income tax and 10 counts of wire fraud.

He is accused of using more than $60,000 in financial contributions for personal expenditures, including restaurants, grocery stores and jewelry stores.

Fullwood faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud offense, and a year in prison on each charge of failure to file.

This afternoon he spoke about the trial going on during election season.

“We’re planning on going to trial the whole time. So looking forward to it. I’m still not guilty so looking forward to going to trial and proving my innocence,” Fullwood said.

Jury selection in this case is scheduled to begin the morning of Oct. 11.

Cox Media Group