U.S. District Judge John Gibney in Norfolk, Virginia, sentenced Derickson Lawrence, a Mount Vernon activist found guilty of wire and mail fraud after a jury trial in March, to 7 1/3 years in federal prison on October 25, 2024. He was also ordered to pay $221,443 in compensation. The activists were found guilty of taking advantage of restaurant workers who depended on his company to pay them and of fictitiously claiming Covid relief funds.
