Big Freedia Sentenced to Three Years Probation, Avoids Jail Time

Big Freedia avoided jail time but has been sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay a $35,000 fine after being charged earlier this year with theft of government funds, the New Orleans Advocate reports. Freedia (born Freddie Ross) was accused by the U.S. attorney’s office in New Orleans of accepting almost $35,000 in housing assistance checks that she wasn’t entitled to. Freedia pleaded guilty, and in July was ordered to move to a halfway house that she could leave only with the permission of a probation officer. 

U.S. District Court Judge Lance Africk said he received a number of letters on Freedia’s behalf, Advocate reporter Jim Mustian noted. Freedia’s defense attorney, referring to the theft, reportedly said Freedia “can’t go back in time” to alter the past. “Sometimes people have bad judgment,” the lawyer, Vinny Mosca, was quoted as saying. “They make mistakes.” According to Mustian, Big Freedia apologized to supporters, telling the court, “I am at fault for my criminal conduct.” The judge challenged the notion the theft was a “victimless crime” and warned, “Please do not mistake kindness for weakness.”

Read “The Ballad of Big Freedia: How the New Orleans Bounce Icon Was Betrayed By Her City’s Housing Crisis” on the Pitch.

 

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