ARKANSAS, USA — On Friday, February 3, former Arkansas State Senator Jeremy Hutchinson was sentenced for tax fraud and accepting multiple bribes, resulting in a 4 year and two-month prison sentence, followed by three years of supervised release.
Hutchinson was a state senator and representative who resigned after being charged in a 12-count federal grand jury indictment in connection with a multi-district investigation that spanned the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas and the Western District of Missouri.
The indictment alleged that from 2010 through 2017, Hutchinson stole thousands of dollars in state campaign contributions for his own personal use and then filed false federal income tax returns from 2011 to 2014 to cover up his crimes.
Hutchinson was charged with eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of filing false tax returns.
He was also previously charged in a 32-count federal grand jury indictment in the Western District of Missouri for taking part in a multi-million-dollar public corruption scheme involving embezzlement, bribes, and illegal campaign contributions for elected public officials.
In accordance with his plea agreement, Hutchinson agreed to plead guilty to the following charges:
- Count 1 of the Western District of Missouri superseding indictment, charging him with conspiracy to commit federal program bribery
- Count 9 of the Eastern District of Arkansas indictment, charging him with filing a false tax return
- Information filed in the Western District of Arkansas, charging him with conspiracy to commit federal program bribery.
Hutchinson admitted that he had been hired as outside counsel by an unidentified individual who owned and operated orthodontic clinics throughout the state.
In exchange for payments and legal work, Hutchinson pushed legislation that would be beneficial to the individual.
He further admitted that in 2011, he stole over $10,000 in state campaign funds for personal use and falsified his 2011 tax returns— including failing to report $20,000-per-month payments he received from a law firm, as well as other sources of income he concealed from his taxes.
Hutchinson is also expected to plead guilty to Count 1 of the Western District of Missouri superseding indictment during a hearing today.
The indictment alleged that Hutchinson and other elected officials accepted bribes from employees and executives at Preferred Family Healthcare Inc. (formerly known as Alternative Opportunities Inc.), a healthcare charity based in Springfield, Missouri.