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| Randy Shelton and his lawyer. |
Conspiracy count added for former state senator, two others in grants case:
"FAYETTEVILLE -- The U.S. Justice Department added a conspiracy charge against former state Sen. Jon Woods and two others in a bribery scheme, according to a revised indictment released Thursday.
Woods; Oren Paris III, president of Ecclesia College in Springdale; and consultant Randell G. Shelton Jr. were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Woods also faces 15 counts of fraud, all relating to either wire or mail transfers of money. Paris and Shelton are named in 14 of the fraud charges. Woods is also charged with one count of money laundering in connection with the purchase of a cashier's check.
The case involves grants from the state General Improvement Fund, which is controlled by legislators. The Justice Department alleges that Paris paid Woods and former state Rep. Micah Neal of Springdale kickbacks in return for a total of $550,000 in grants from those two legislators to his college from 2013 through 2014.
Shelton is accused of using a consulting firm he owned as a way to pass along the kickbacks to Neal and Woods through consulting fees approved by Paris.
More indictments are expected against other defendants, attorneys for the defense said at a May 23 hearing before U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks. Attorneys for the government confirmed during the hearing that an investigation is ongoing. Portions of the case's record remain sealed to protect that investigation, the attorneys said and court records confirm.
Ecclesia, a private, Christian college, also received improvement fund grants from other lawmakers who are not implicated in the indictments, grant records show. In all, the college received $717,500 in improvement fund grants from 2013 through 2014.
Neal, a Republican, pleaded guilty Jan. 4 to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, admitting that he took two kickbacks totaling $38,000 in exchange for directing General Improvement Fund grants to two nonprofits. He has not been sentenced.
Thursday's indictment replaces previous grand jury indictments against Woods, Paris and Shelton. All three defendants have entered innocent pleas and are set for trial in Fayetteville on Dec. 4. They were first indicted on March 3 with a superseding indictment filed April 18.
Paris paid Shelton's consulting company $267,000 out of college money from 2013-15, according to court documents. Shelton is described in the latest indictment as a mutual friend of Paris and Woods."
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| So many unread leather-bound books! - nice props. Oren Paris III has a bachelor's from Ecclesia College, another bachelor's from the U. of Arkansas, and a drive-by DMin from some online schoo. |
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