Former Prince George’s County Council member Mel Franklin pleaded guilty Monday to charges of felony theft scheme and perjury for using at least $130,000 of campaign funds for personal expenses.
As part of the plea agreement, Franklin admitted to taking more than $124,000 from his campaign committee, “Friends of Mel Franklin,” to cover personal expenses such as rent, debt payments and cosmetic procedures for himself and a friend, according to a statement from the Office of the Maryland State Prosecutor.
He also admitted to using more than $8,000 to pay third parties for personal expenses from the campaign’s bank account. From 2021 until at least December 2023, Franklin used the campaign’s funds directly to pay for hotel stays, car maintenance and a deposit for a trip in 2024, according to the statement.
Franklin was the chair of the “Friends of Mel Franklin” committee, which formed in 2009 to raise funds for his first campaign for county council, according to the statement.
Franklin’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 13. He faces up to one year in prison, according to the plea deal offered to Franklin in May.
The state of Maryland initially brought 20 charges against Franklin. This included 16 charges of perjury for filing false campaign finance reports to the state’s board of elections and two charges each of embezzlement and felony theft scheme.
[Former Prince George’s County Council member Mel Franklin charged with embezzlement]
“Elected officials should be held accountable if they violate the public trust and exploit the Maryland electoral process for personal financial gain,” Maryland state prosecutor Charlton Howard III said in a statement Monday. “I’m proud of our office’s hard work in uncovering this extensive fraud.”
After abruptly resigning from his at-large seat on the council on June 14, Franklin was charged less than a week later in the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.
Franklin represented Prince George’s County’s District 9 from 2010 until 2018, when he was elected to one of the county’s two at-large seats.
Following Franklin’s resignation, the county council held a special primary election on Aug. 6 to nominate the candidates who vie to fill the vacant seat in this November’s general election.
County council Chair Jolene Ivey won the Democratic nomination for the empty seat. If she wins the general election in November, the council will hold another special election to fill her seat representing District 5.
Michael Riker, a retired law enforcement officer who worked for Prince George’s County Police for more than 20 years, won the Republican nomination.
County council members did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Diamondback.
