John Rogersâ assistant to plead guilty in federal kickback scheme
The longtime assistant to state Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, has agreed to plead guilty to three counts in connection with a federal kickback scheme allegedly involving her boss.
Varrie Johnson Kindall will plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, wire fraud and obstruction of justice, according to records in Birmingham federal court,
Kindall has also agreed to pay more than $197,000 in restitution to the Jefferson County Community Service Fund, which was created to allocate money for public institutions in the county and whose money was used in the kickback scheme.
She will also be paying the IRS more than $48,000 under the agreement.
According to the plea agreement, Rogers, 82, who has served in the state Legislature for more than four decades, was allotted $500,000 to distribute from the the fund from fiscal years 2018 through 2022, and the lawmaker directed $400,000 of that money to Piper Davis Youth Baseball League.
The league’s executive director, erstwhile state Rep. Fred Plump, then kicked back $200,000 of the $400,000 to Rogers and Kindall, whom he had a “personal relationship” with, the agreement claimed.
Plump resigned from the Alabama House in the summer after pleading guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
In September, a federal grand jury in charged Rogers, with obstruction of justice and obstruction of justice by bribery in connection with the scheme.