Ex-US Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr jailed for 30 months for misusing campaign funds

Former US congressman Jesse Jackson Jr has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for misusing campaign funds.

The 48-year-old pleaded guilty in February to fraud after he spent 750,000 dollars on a Rolex watch, fur coats, mounted elk heads and other items.

According to the BBC, his wife, Sandra, who pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns, was sentenced to one year in prison.

The Illinois Democrat was once seen as a possible presidential candidate.

Between 2007 and 2009, the Jacksons misused funds donated to his re-election campaign to buy a gold-plated Rolex watch worth more than 43,000 dollars, fur capes and parkas worth over 5,000 dollars and nearly 9,600 dollars on children's furniture.

According to the report, Jackson was also accused of failing to report 28,500 dollars in gifts and loans to the House of Representatives, where he had served from 1995.

Prosecutors said the couple had a combined income of about 300,000 dollars at the time they were spending the campaign money, the report added.