RYAN KRULL
Brittish Williams leaving federal court after being sentenced to four years in prison.
Reality TV star and St. Louis native Brittish Williams was sentenced today in federal court to four years in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to 15 counts of various types of fraud.
The Clayton High graduate has appeared on VH1's Basketball Wives and Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars. She also co-hosted the morning show on St. Louis radio station Hot 104.1, a job she lost in the wake of her guilty plea in May.
Williams was indicted by federal prosecutors in September 2021, accused of not paying taxes and under-reporting the income of her businesses. She also allegedly used other people's identities to open bank accounts without their knowledge. After her indictment, prosecutors say she continued committing acts of fraud, including collecting pandemic-related rent relief under false pretenses and submitting bogus medical bills to an insurance company.
In court today, Williams and her attorney Beau Brindley asked Judge Henry Autrey for leniency in sentencing.
"I knew better, and I did wrong anyway," Williams said, adding that the idea of being separated from her daughter was "heartbreaking."
Judge Autrey seemed largely unswayed, telling Williams that he believed she possessed a "fraudster mentality." He pointed out that in total, WIlliams' various frauds led to her taking in $150,000 a year from 2017 to 2020.
"That's a pretty damn good wage," he said.
Autrey also suggested that Williams’ fame impacted his sentencing decision, saying, "Not only are you out there for people to watch your entertainment, but also for people to watch you. … That's a big obligation."
The four-year sentence was less than the 63 recommended in the pre-sentence investigation report but significantly more than the suggestions of 18 months or even just probation offered by Brindley.
In arguing for a tougher sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke pointed to the fact that Williams kept committing fraud even after she was indicted and that she counseled other people that they didn't have to pay taxes for the first few years they were running a business.
Klocke also pointed out that Williams had traveled without permission while on pre-trial monitoring. Williams had complained that being monitored by the court had prevented her from doing her job.
However, Klocke pointed out that Williams being monitored by the court was a subplot of a season of Basketball Wives.
As Williams leaving the court with a few friends after the sentencing, one briefly lunged at a reporter — an interaction captured on video:
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