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AG's public corruption probe ensnares 2 with ties to BR's 'Safe Hopeful Healthy' program

1 hour 34 minutes 20 seconds ago Wednesday, February 25 2026 Feb 25, 2026 February 25, 2026 12:30 PM February 25, 2026 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE — A wide-ranging probe of City Hall affairs ensnared another public employee Wednesday when a grand jury indicted a former top administrator for former mayor Sharon Weston Broome.

The panel named Courtney Scott in nine counts and also brought eight charges against Veronica Mathis, whose company provided assistance to Broome's "Safe Hopeful Healthy Baton Rouge" program. Scott oversaw Broome's "Healthy City" initiative, which benefited from the use of federal COVID-19 relief funds.

Scott and Mathis each face allegations including conspiracy, theft, bribery, money laundering and public contract fraud, while Scott is also accused of malfeasance as a government employee.

Scott worked for Broome until July 2024, when she was accused of beating a man outside a Baton Rouge night club. She resigned, and a video of the incident popped up after a lawsuit was filed.

A probe led by the attorney general's office previously resulted in the indictment of five people with ties to the Capital Area Transit System, including Metro Council member Cleve Dunn Jr.

Tuesday, CATS' former administrator and a CATS contractor pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. According to the AG's office, the two made fradulent reports about pre-agreed-upon contracts to defraud CATS of tens of thousands of dollars.

The Safe Hopeful Healthy Baton Rouge initiative was behind Broome's "Summer of Hope" events in 2024. The program was intended to reduce violence in the city. The Advocate newspaper reported Wednesday that Mathis’ company received city-parish funds totaling more than $50,000 beween 2020 and 2024.

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