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Grammy Award-winning New Orleans trumpeter Irvin Mayfield and his musical partner, pianist Ronald Markham each pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a conspiracy to commit fraud charges stemming from their time with a foundation charity that raised funds for libraries.
Prosecutors alleged they transferred more than $ 1.3 million from the New Orleans Public Library Foundation to themselves, much of it channeling it through the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, founded by Mayfield. The money also went through another nonprofit, the Youth Rescue Initiative, of which Mayfield was a board member, according to the indictment.
Each faces up to five years in prison when sentenced on February 9 by U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey, who accepted their guilty plea of conspiracy to commit mail and electronic fraud.
Mayfield was among the musicians who played a leading role in promoting New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when levee failures resulted in catastrophic flooding. Irvin’s father died in the floods. More recently, Mayfield has battled his own COVID-19 infection and the death of his older brother, defense attorney Claude Kelly said outside the courthouse on Tuesday.
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Ronald Markham (left) and Irvin Mayfield (right) face up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and electronic fraud.
(Skip Bolen / Getty Images)
Mayfield was a founding member of the Afro-Caribbean jazz ensemble Los Hombres Calientes. He won a Grammy in 2010 with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra for the album “Book One”.
He resigned his post as artistic director of the orchestra in 2016 as his role with the library grew following investigative reporting from WWL-TV.
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Neither Mayfield nor Markham spoke to reporters. Kelly noted that 23 other charges had been dropped as part of the plea deal, which was reached in July but was not made final until Tuesday due to delays related to the coronavirus.
“The offenses are a lot more complicated than just the title,” Kelly said. “And we really can’t wait to be able to present the full picture – accepting full responsibility – to Judge Zainey before he makes his final decision.
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Prosecutors said that in addition to the orchestra’s running expenses and Mayfield and Markham’s salaries, the library’s foundation money went into Mayfield’s personal bank accounts and for the purchase of a gold plated trumpet. Prosecutors said the men also took steps to mislead the library foundation and others about their money transfers, including falsifying the minutes of foundation board meetings. .
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