Rep. John Rogers (D-AL) is facing some serious legal trouble as federal prosecutors revealed on Wednesday that he has been indicted on charges related to an alleged attempt to obstruct a federal investigation involving the potential mishandling of state grant funds.
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The indictment centers on allegations that Rogers and his assistant, Varrie Johnson Kindall, resorted to questionable tactics in an effort to derail federal investigators who were probing potential kickbacks. These kickbacks were purportedly paid to Kindall.
Rogers and Kindall are accused of offering additional grant money as a bribe in order to sway a person into providing false information to federal agents.
The charges against Rogers include two counts of obstruction of justice. Meanwhile, Kindall faces a laundry list of charges, including conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and tax-related offenses, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
In its statement, the DOJ explained, “A 25-count superseding indictment filed this week in United States District Court charges Varrie Johnson Kindall, 58, of Chelsea, with one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud, 3 counts of mail fraud, 1 count of money laundering, and 4 tax-related charges.”
“Additionally, the superseding indictment charges John Rogers, 82, and Kindall with 2 counts of obstruction of justice. These charges arise from an investigation of wrongdoing in connection with the Jefferson County Community Service Fund,” the statement read further.
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This latest development is linked to an ongoing investigation involving the misappropriation of funds in the Jefferson County Community Service Fund. In June, former Rep. Fred L. Plump Jr. (D-AL) pleaded guilty to conspiring with Kindall and siphoning off a significant portion of grant funds directed to Rogers’ youth sports league.
Plump’s actions admittedly amounted to redirecting approximately $200,000 of the $400,000 in grant funds, returning it to Rogers’ assistant. He has since resigned from his post in the Alabama House of Representatives.
Rogers, however, has maintained his innocence, stating in a text message to The Associated Press, “I’m pretty confident that I’m going to be cleared.”
