Ted Suhl corruption case set for a July 12 trial date

A July 12 trial date has been set for Ted Suhl who is accused in a federal bribery and corruption case involving the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson granted a defense request to continue the case of Suhl, from Warm Springs, until July 12 at 9:30 a.m., in the Little Rock federal building.

Suhl was indicted by a federal grand jury in Little Rock in December 2015 on conspiracy to commit bribery and honest services fraud, three counts of honest services fraud, one count of federal funds bribery and one count of interstate travel in aid of bribery.

Prosecutors alleged Suhl, former DHS deputy director Steven Jones, Phillip Carter of West Memphis and a fourth person (Person A), who has not been named, were involved in a nearly four-year long conspiracy.

“Person A was a resident of Crittenden County and was the Pastor and Superintendent of a church located in West Memphis. Carter was a juvenile probation officer and city council member for West Memphis and was also affiliated with Person A’s church,” prosecutors said last year in Carter’s case. “Jones was a Deputy Director of ADHS (Arkansas Department of Human Services from in or about April 2007 to in or about July 2013. … As an employee and high ranking manager, Jones was an agent of ADHS and he was responsible for, among other things, overseeing five of ADHS’s ten divisions. Person C was the owner of two mental health companies, Company A and Company B. Company A provided outpatient mental health services to juveniles. Company B provided inpatient mental health services to juveniles,” prosecutors said.

Prosecutors also allege Suhl, Jones and Carter met several times to discuss the conspiracy.

“At the meetings, they discussed the business interests of Person C (Suhl), Company A and Company B (Suhl’s companies), and Jones agreed to take official acts to benefit Person C, Company A and Company B, including providing internal ADHS information to Person C,” prosecutors said. “Prior to or during the meetings. … Person C would provide Carter with checks from companies associated with Person C that were made payable to Person A’s church. After the restaurant meetings, Carter would provide the checks to Person A, who typically deposited the checks or caused the checks to be deposited into church-related checking accounts (including an account associated with the church’s child development center) and received cash in return – either directly from the church related accounts or after transferring the money from the church-related accounts to a personal checking account.”

Jones pleaded guilty to two counts of bribery and one count of conspiracy in late 2014, while Carter pleaded guilty last fall to one count of defrauding DHS.

Jones and Carter are scheduled to appear Feb. 18 in federal court.