Daughter of ex-Obama pastor guilty in fraud scheme jailed

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A federal judge in Springfield has jailed the daughter of President Barack Obama's former pastor as she awaits sentencing on a money-laundering conviction.

U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough on Monday agreed with prosecutors who contended Jeri Wright violated her parole by participating in a ghost pay-rolling scheme at an Indiana company following her conviction. She has not been charged, but Myerscough ruled there was probable cause for such a case.

Defense attorney Victor P. Henderson contended a court filing that had Wright done something illegal, "she would have been arrested."

The 49-year-old Wright of Hazel Crest, the daughter of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., was convicted last March of participating in the misuse of $1.25 million in Illinois grant funds in a scheme led by former Country Club Hills police chief Regina Evans.

Wright's sentencing is scheduled for March 20.