Former Senator Jon Woods, others indicted on money laundering, fraud charges
by March 2, 2017 6:15 pm 1,728 views
Former State Senator Jon Woods, R-Springdale, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of money laundering and honest services mail and wire fraud in connection with a kickback and bribery scheme that has already seen one former state lawmaker plead guilty.
On Thursday, March 2, the U.S. Attorney’s Western District office filed a 43-page indictment that outlines the alleged scheme to steer General Improvement Fund money from the state legislature to projects supported through funding distributed by the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District.
Woods, 39, was an Arkansas state senator from 2013 to 2017. The indictment also names Oren Paris, III and Randell G. Shelton, Jr. as playing a role in the effort. Paris, 49, is president of Ecclesia College in Springdale, which received funding from GIF monies; however, the private school is not named in the indictment. Shelton, 37, is identified as the incorporator of an unnamed consulting company.
Former State Rep. Micah Neal, R-Springdale, pleaded guilty on January 5, 2017 to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud.
The purposes of the scheme outlined in today’s lengthy indictment state that:
- Woods and Neal sought to enrich themselves “by soliciting and accepting bribes in exchange for using their official positions as Arkansas legislators to direct GIF monies” to two different entities, identified as Entity A and C;
- Paris sought to enrich himself, his family, and Entity A, by “paying bribes to Woods and Neal through Shelton”; and
- Shelton sought to enrich himself by “keeping a portion of the bribe funds paid to Woods and Neal.”
The activity took place between 2013 and 2015 and included GIF monies totaling $600,000 over the course of the alleged illegal efforts.
You can read the full indictment at this link, which outlines a detailed report of the correspondence and interaction between the parties throughout the course of the scheme.
Talk Business & Politics will update this story as more information becomes available.