Alabama House Rep. Fred Plump faces federal charges, as prosecutors allege his nonprofit took public money distributed by another state lawmaker and used some of it to pay the lawmaker’s assistant, the U.S. attorney’s office in Birmingham announced Tuesday.

Plump, D-Birmingham is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of obstruction of justice, according to a statement from Prim Escalona, the U.S. Attorney in north Alabama. Plump is expected to resign as part of a plea deal.

“It would be unwise for me to comment publicly at this time,” Plump’s attorney Richard Jaffe told AL.com. “I do expect Rep. Plump to resign immediately from the Legislature.”

Plump is accused of conspiring with others to defraud and obtain money from the Jefferson County Community Service Fund for his nonprofit, Piper Davis Youth Baseball League. The fund was created by the state legislature in 2015 to allow the Jefferson County Commission to collect a one percent sales tax and a one percent use tax, and distribute about $3.6 million annually to public groups like schools, libraries, police departments, and youth sports associations.

When contacted by AL.com after the federal charges were announced, Plump declined to comment. In a separate interview last week, Plump denied knowledge of any investigation and denied wrongdoing.

Per Escalona, the charging documents state that “Legislator #1, a long serving member of the Alabama House of Representatives,” was part of the conspiracy in recommending each fiscal year that most of his allotment be directed to the Piper Davis Baseball League.

The legislator directed about $400,000 to the organization from the total $500,000 he was allocated through the fund. In exchange, Plump gave about $200,000 to “Individual #1,” who is noted as Legislator #1′s assistant, per the charging document.

State Rep. John Rogers told AL.com that he is Legislator No. 1.

“That’s me’” he said Tuesday afternoon. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t get any of that money.”

In an interview with AL.com last week, Rogers said federal authorities specifically asked him about Plump’s non-profit. Rogers also told AL.com that Plump told him that he was asked to wear a wire for the investigation.

Rogers has not been charged with any crimes. The fund’s annual allocations show that Rogers distributed nearly $386,000 from the fund to Plump’s nonprofit since 2018.

“There is a federal investigation going on but I’m not a target,” he said in an interview last week. “I wouldn’t even give the money until they put a third party in to guarantee to make sure that whoever gets the money is the proper person to get the money. Once they approve the person, I’m out of it. I don’t get any money back from it. I don’t see the money anymore, period.”

The Piper Davis Youth Baseball League has been a recipient of nearly $400,000 from the fund since at least 2018. The nonprofit’s website identifies itself as an organization that promotes sports for “at-risk inner-city youth” in the Birmingham metro area. The organization has not filed a full 990 tax form with the IRS, despite bringing in more than the $50,000 threshold that requires submitting the form, per public filings and the fund’s allocation records.

“The charging instrument alleges that from in or about March 2019, and continuing through April 2023, Plump conspired with others to defraud and obtain money from the Fund,” the statement reads. “Plump submitted false and fraudulent information to the Committee about Piper Davis’s intended use of Fund money.”

After Plump was interviewed by federal agents and served with a grand jury subpoena, he then “corruptly attempted to obstruct the investigation” by texting the assistant “Red alert” and meeting with her to warn her of the investigation, per Escalona’s office, which cited the charging document.

Rogers said authorities specifically asked him about Plump’s non-profit.

“Once the agency approves it, I’m out of it. I’m not worried about anybody investigating me because I haven’t done anything,” he said. “Not one cent has ever come to me, not one dime. This is not my first rodeo.”

Rogers said he learned about an investigation a few weeks ago after authorities visited his aide.

The fund is led by a four-member Jefferson County Community Service Committee to oversee the fund’s use, and members of the commission were allocated funds each year to disburse. Between October 2018 and September 2022, each representative was allocated $100,000 to distribute, while each senator was allocated about $240,000.

Plump, 76, has been in the state House of Representatives since 2022.

With his guilty plea, Plump faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine for each of the two charges, if convicted. He also agreed to pay at least $200,000 back to the fund.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Martin and Catherine Crosby are prosecuting the case. The investigation was led by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.