A week before he was scheduled to stand trial, former Atlanta city councilman Antonio Brown has entered a plea deal with federal authorities, admitting to a single count of bank fraud.
The charges against Brown were filed in 2020, when he was one of the youngest and most progressive members of the City Council. But the allegations — which involve Brown purportedly opening credit cards and taking out automobile loans, spending thousands and then falsely claiming his identity was stolen — date back as far as 2012.
Brown, who also ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor, had previously maintained his innocence. Court records show he changed his plea in a Monday hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Mark H. Cohen.
Website Atlanta Progressive News was the first to report the development.
In exchange for pleading guilty to one fraud charge, six others charges originally filed against Brown were dropped. The count he admitted involved him lying about his income on a 2017 application for a $75,000 bank loan.
Brown is scheduled to be sentenced April 13.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to recommend he serve 18 months on probation, with the first eight on house arrest.
A judge will have the final say.
Brown did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.
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