The disgraced former mayor of Baltimore was sentenced to three years in federal prison Thursday for arranging fraudulent sales of her self-published children's books.

Catherine Pugh arranged for her 'Healthy Holly' books to be sold to nonprofits and foundations to promote her political career, fund her run for the city's highest office, and buy a new house.

As part of the double-selling scheme, organizations paid Pugh $859,960 for orders of more than 132,100 copies but only 73,200 were ever printed.

The orders were never completed but Pugh pocketed an estimated $800,000 from the sales for her own use.

In November, she pleaded guilty to 11 charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the government and two counts of tax evasion.

Catherine Pugh, 69, was sentenced to three years in federal prison on Thursday

Federal authorities accused Catherine Pugh of double selling the books, keeping many for self-promotion purposes and failing to deliver them to institutions they were purchased for. They are seen here removing items from her home in April as part of the investigation

Copies of former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh's self-published 'Healthy Holly' illustrated paperbacks for children were resold instead of being delivered to Baltimore school children

The 69-year-old veteran Democratic politician apologized ahead of her sentencing in the federal court in Baltimore on Thursday and said that 'no one is more disappointed than me'.

The scandal has shaken Maryland's largest city, which for years has struggled with grinding poverty, political mismanagement, record crime rates and police abuses that led to massive riots.

And it made a mockery of Pugh's inaugural promise to restore trust in Baltimore's leaders.

Pugh was elected mayor in 2016 and resigned under pressure in May 2019 as authorities investigated bulk sales of her 'Healthy Holly' paperbacks, which netted her an estimated $800,000.

The scandal broke in March 2019 around the book series which features an African American girl who promoted exercise and nutritional eating habits.

The thousands of books that were sold to promote good eating habits and combat obesity were never delivered to the city's children and were instead resold for further profit.

The Healthy Holly books were intended to promote good eating habits and combat obesity but were never delivered to the city's children as Pugh resold the books and kept the profit

Former Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh, center, and her attorney Steven Silverman, right, arrive for a sentencing hearing at U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Thursday, February 27. Pugh pleaded guilty in November 2019 to federal conspiracy and tax evasion charges

U.S. Attorney Robert Hur, second from left, speaks to reporters after former Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh's sentencing hearing at U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Thursday

Federal authorities accused Pugh of double selling the books, keeping many for self-promotion purposes and failing to deliver them 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 and renovate a new house.

Pugh was also sentenced on Thursday to serve three years of supervised release after getting out of prison and was ordered to pay more than $411,000 in restitution and to forfeit more than $669,000 to the government.

Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow to sentence the former mayor to nearly five years in prison, while her attorneys suggested a term of one year and a day.

Dozens of people submitted letters to the federal judge pleading for leniency, including Kweisi Mfume, the former NAACP leader and Democratic nominee for Maryland's 7th Congressional District.

Five people spoke in support of Pugh during the hearing, including her former high school teacher.

The disgraced former mayor of Baltimore Catherine Pugh arranged for the books to be sold to nonprofits to promote her political career and fund her run for the city´s highest office

Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh pocketed an estimated $800,000 from the scheme

"This isn't the last you'll hear of Catherine Pugh"

Following sentencing on fraud/tax charges Catherine Pugh apologized and said she will now rebuild her life. She will serve 3 yrs in federal prison pic.twitter.com/R5awIIhwVZ — Jayne Miller (@jemillerwbal) February 27, 2020

But U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow said she found it ironic that Pugh´s supporters flaunted her commitment to public service.

'It was precisely that reputation for good work that enabled her to commit those offenses,' Chasnow said.

Pugh apologized to the city once again as she appeared outside the court after her sentencing.

'Nobody loves Baltimore more than I do,' she said.

'I know that Baltimore will move forward. There are great people out there I hope that will take over the reigns, but what I want the citizens of Baltimore do is to continue to believe in the future of our city.

'Again, I apologize to the city, the state ... This is a time for me to rebuild my life.'

Pugh, helped by longtime aide Gary Brown Jr., carefully carried out the scheme over more than seven years, starting when she was a Maryland state senator and into her tenure as Baltimore's mayor.

Brown and another Pugh associate, Roslyn Wedington, await sentencing after pleading guilty to conspiracy and tax fraud.

A detailed accounting of the sales presented by prosecutors revealed that organizations paid Pugh $859,960 for orders of more than 132,100 copies.

But only about 73,200 copies were printed.

Federal agencies raided City Hall, the home of Mayor Catherine Pugh and several other properties as the investigation into the mayor's business dealings for sales of the self-published Healthy Holly books widened in March 2019. She resigned in May 2019

Federal agents remove items from the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in April 2019. She pleaded guilty to tax evasion in November 2019 and was sentenced to three years

In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors said Pugh´s personal inventory of books never exceeded 8,216 copies, but she resold them repeatedly through the elaborate scheme.

The University of Maryland Medical System - one of the state's largest employers - was Pugh's biggest book customer, and will receive $400,000 of the $411,000 in restitution payments.

The remaining $11,000 will go to the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund.

The medical system paid her a total of $500,000 for 100,000 copies that were meant to be distributed to schoolchildren, but about 60,000 of those books were sent to a city warehouse and a Pugh office where thousands were removed to give to other customers.

Prosecutors say Pugh never delivered the other 40,000 books the health system purchased for city schools.

While serving in the state Senate, Pugh sat on a committee that funded the medical system. She also sat on the hospital network's board from 2001 until the scandal erupted in March. The former mayor returned the last $100,000 payment.

Other Pugh customers include CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and Kaiser Permanente, which insure city employees. Some of their multiyear, multi-million-dollar contracts were awarded before Pugh took office, and some were awarded afterward, prosecutors said in a court filing.

'While there is no evidence that Pugh attempted to extort or solicit bribes from any of the foregoing companies or organizations, the fact that she repeatedly and almost exclusively targeted them suggests that Pugh leveraged the power of her elected office to corruptly solicit money from companies and organizations that might be beholden to her,' prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum.

The memorandum added that none of those who bought the books were even aware of their existence until Pugh mentioned them.

Prosecutors said 93.6% of the book purchases, totaling $805,000, were bought by corporate buyers with an interest in 'obtaining or maintaining a government contract'.