The disgraced former Mayor of Baltimore, Catherine Pugh had been convicted of the years-long scheme on profiting over a children’s book.

The book entitled “Healthy Holly” had been authored by Pugh and was meant to be sold to non-profit organizations and foundations. However, Pugh used the book as bait to cash in on federal funding and used the money to further her own political career and fund her run for the mayor’s seat.

Pugh had pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and tax evasion charges in November. She is scheduled to be sentenced this Thursday as her attorneys asked for a 366-days sentence. However, prosecutors are lobbying for five years behind bars.

The Democratic politician was elected as mayor of Baltimore in 2016 and resigned last May after she had filed an indefinite leave of absence, citing her health problem as an excuse. Meanwhile, prosecutors close in on Pugh for allegations on questionable bulk sales of her self-authored books.

The former mayor had profited thousands of dollars from the sales. As ABC wrote, “Prosecutors accused Pugh of double selling the books, keeping many for self-promotion purposes and failing to deliver to institutions they were purchased for, including the Baltimore City Public Schools. Pugh used the proceeds to fund straw donations to her mayoral campaign and buy a new house.” According to the sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors, ”She was able to keep her scheme for seven years with the help of longtime aide Gary Brown Jr.”

Her scheme began when she was elected as Maryland state senator and kept up her racket until her tenure as Mayor of Baltimore. Pugh’s long list of clients includes the University of Maryland Medical system in which she had received a whopping $500,000 for 100,000 copies of her book. However upon checking, there had been no contract that had been signed, and the federal system labeled it as purchases under “grants.”

Others include Health care provider Kaiser Permanente in which the company paid a sum of $114,000 for 20,000 copies of her books during 2015 and 2018.

In a video for Baltimore Sun, Pugh said, “I accept total responsibility. I plead guilty and I’m sorry. I don’t know any other words that could be strong. I am so sorry.” Pugh admitted, “I messed up. I really messed up.”