Ex-Treasurer Martha Shoffner Mail Fraud Case Will Go Trial

From Elicia Dover with our content partner, KATV Ch. 7:

A federal judge did not accept former Arkansas treasurer Martha Shoffner’s guilty plea Monday, forcing her case to go to trial.

Shoffner originally appeared in court to change her plea to guilty for 10 counts of mail fraud. The prosecution offered Shoffner a plea agreement to dismiss nine of the mail fraud charges if she pleaded guilty to one count, but Shoffner could not agree to one of the terms of her agreement: that she raised campaign funds intentionally to spend it for personal use.

The prosecution presented evidence that Shoffner opened a bank account in Oct. 2009 for her re-election campaign for treasurer. The prosecution said she used a check from that account to make a payment toward a personal credit card bill.

A teary-eyed Shoffner was asked if that was true.

“I wrote the check and mailed it,” Shoffner said.

Shoffner was asked if the funds were spent on personal use.

“It was personal, I don’t know exactly what, but it was personal,” she said.

Shoffner was asked if she raised those campaign funds with the intent to spend those funds for personal gain.

“It was at the end of the campaign and I did write the check,” Shoffner said.

Judge Leon Holmes asked Shoffner to clarify her answer on whether or not she was conscious in planning to use the funds for personal use when she was fundraising.

Shoffner took about a 40-minute recess to discuss her answer with her lawyer, Chuck Banks. Shoffner then returned to the court and said that she could not say she had intent to spend the funds.

“I never raised the money to use it personally,” Shoffner said. “I can’t answer this question that I did it intentionally.”

Judge Holmes set Shoffner’s trial for Dec. 1, but the defense and state asked for a small delay, since neither were prepared to go to trial.

Shoffner was convicted of 14 counts of extortion and bribery in March, but has not been sentenced.

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