Ousted Tennessee senator sentenced to probation for fraud

By ADRIAN SAINZ
Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A judge has ruled a former Tennessee state senator removed from office after being convicted of using federal grant money on wedding expenses will not serve prison time. But the judge on Friday ordered Katrina Robinson to spend one year on probation after being found guilty last September of wire fraud in Memphis federal court. In 2020, federal prosecutors accused Robinson of paying personal expenses from more than $600,000 in federal grant money awarded to The Healthcare Institute, the school she operated to trained nurses that focused on helping low-income minority students. She ultimately was convicted of only two of 20 counts, involving about $3,400 in wedding expenses in 2016.