Former state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, nephew of former Gov. Asa Hutchinson, lost his appeal to overturn his 50-month prison sentence in Missouri for his involvement in a bribery scandal. Hutchinson also received a 46-month sentence in Arkansas for related charges. Hutchinson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery in Missouri and filing a false tax return in Arkansas.
In the bribery scandal involving Preferred Family Healthcare, Hutchinson was one of many defendants that included politicians, lobbyists, and executives of the nonprofit behavioral healthcare company. Another defendant, former Arkansas state Rep. Eddie Wayne Cooper, pleaded guilty to embezzling over $4 million from the agency.
Preferred Family Healthcare once had more than 40 sites across Arkansas providing services such as behavioral health care and substance abuse treatment. Federal prosecutors alleged that the company’s leaders conspired to bribe lawmakers and state officials to secure state Medicaid funding.
Hutchinson, currently incarcerated in a federal prison in Memphis, now has the option to appeal to the full appeals court. As more defendants are sentenced in connection to the scandal, the legal fallout continues to unfold in both Arkansas and Missouri.
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Photo credit arktimes.com
