The Justice Department issued the following press release:
Biloxi Businessman Sentenced For Kickback Scheme With Mississippi Department
of Corrections Commissioner
Gulfport, Miss - Robert Simmons, 60, of Biloxi, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to 87 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for carrying out a complicated kickback scheme in which he paid money to the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) and to a Harrison County Supervisor in exchange for lucrative contracts with the state and county, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Harold Brittain and FBI Special Agent in Charge Donald Alway. Simmons was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
By virtue of Simmons’ relationship with the commissioner and supervisor and the kickbacks which he paid to both, he was successful in securing and keeping contracts with both governmental entities. Specifically, from 2012 through August 2014, Simmons was paid $4,000 a month as a consultant for Sentinel Offender Services, L.L.C. (Sentinel). Since 2012, Sentinel was under contract with the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) to provide services to aid in the monitoring and managing of offenders sentenced to probation or parole. Simmons deposited a portion of his monthly pay, a kickback of $1400, directly into the bank account of Christopher Epps, the Commissioner of
the MDOC, at bank branch locations along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
AJA Management and Technical Services (AJA) provided construction management services to the MDOC for the construction of the $40,000,000 expansion to the East Mississippi Correctional Facility and a $40,000,000 expansion to the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility. Throughout the eighteen month period of construction, Simmons received a monthly consulting fee from AJA of $10,000. Every month, a portion of Simmons’ consulting fee was paid to the Commissioner of the MDOC.
From approximately 2005 through 2011, Health Assurance L.L.C. contracted with the Harrison County Jail to provide inmate medical services. The owner of Health Assurance L.L.C. paid Simmons a consulting fee which, at the end of the contract, was as high as $10,000 a month. Throughout this period of time, Simmons made payments in the amount of $2,000 a month to a Harrison County Supervisor for assistance provided in securing the contract at the Harrison County Jail for inmate medical services.
Throughout the relevant time period, the Commissioner of the MDOC exercised influence in the awarding of contracts with the MDOC. In return for these contracts and in order to secure future contracts and favors, Simmons began paying Commissioner Epps.
In summary, Simmons paid bribes and kickbacks to a Harrison county supervisor and to the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, and both Harrison County and the Mississippi Department of Corrections received more than $10,000 during each one year period beginning in 2008 and continuing through 2014.
This case was inve tigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Golden.
Kingfish note: Dr. Carl Reddix is one of the owners of Health Assurance, Inc. The Priester Law Firm is the registered agent for the company. The Harrison County supervisor was William Martin. Mr. Martin killed himself the day he was to be arraigned for his indictment. JJ broke the story spelling out the scheme between Mr. Martin and Health Assurance, Inc.
24 comments:
*prison
Does this mean the others indicted will probably receive 87 months (7 years and and 3 months) and $10,000.00 also. I am not an atty. and don't know how the system works. Before I would be forced to accept those terms I would be singing like a bird.
This guy plead guilty. I wonder how much time he would have gotten if he had gone to trial?
Acting us attorney? Where is Greg Davis?
KF- should the Priesters be worried about this or is it normal attorney business relationship?
Wow!!! I am surprised that a guilty plea produced this long of a sentence for this man.Must be lots of money embezzled/stolen/manipulated.The amount of time a convicted person is sentenced to has a lot to do with the amount of money involved in the crime.Based on this Chris Epps may get 50 years.Unless,of course,he gives up a governor or two.
Cool Sul strikes again!
We may need to add a new wing onto the prison
Has AJA been implicated yet? Here is there website
http://ajaservices.com/about-us
This is simply amazing - That over and over and over we learn that so many people were depositing money into Epps' accounts or otherwise giving him large sums of money.
How in the hell did Epps think he would fly under the radar forever? Was he simply overwhelmed by it all? Did he intend to cash-out and leave the casino? What do public records show that he contributed to campaigns of various governors? Those would be legal bribes.
This guy sure has a broad area of "consulting" expertise; inmate monitoring, construction, medical services. Besides making bank deposits, I'm curious as to what services this guy actually performed when he wasn't stealing money from the taxpayers. Are there any functions of our state and local government that don't have 3 layers of consultants and overnight llc's siphoning money on its way down to the poor sucker whose actually working for a paycheck?
4:27 Robert Simmon's claim to fame was his connection to Rep. Bennie Thompson. He could get you an appointment if you hired him.Plain and simple his expertise was selling access.He obviously was also willing to divide the proceeds from these sales with those being accessed.This is being done at all levels.These days you must hire that special associate or friend aka consultant of an agency higher-up if you have any expectation of positive results.The no-bid emergency contracts featured right here on JJ that have been passed out to those "business men" with claimed "consulting" expertise are just another way that the current politicians reward the connected class for past deeds.Sad thing is that when one consultant gets caught another gets some business cards printed and fills the open slot.
Hey, now he will be a consumer of his consultation services so he can see what difference he made! The 7+ years added experience he will now get he can add to his resume! "Internal corrections internship"
....Or in some cases another one gets some signs and cartoons printed up in an attempt to influence elections. But this thread isn't about Greg Brand.
look at the money this guy made and used as a bribe. this will tell you how many years the judge is handing down for each defendant from here on out.
6:03 Any chance Simmons' activities could "reach" Bennie?
Bennie is an untouchable as long as Obama controls the USDOJ. He sure is tight with many that are involved in the prison scandal.If he had a son it would probably look like Chris Epps.
This sentence will have no correlation with those to come in future months and years. Nobody ever heard of this judge.
Is the man really in jail or is he just sentenced to go to jail?
Is there anybody out there who was not associated with Epps?
Yes, there are several. Some that represented companies that were interested in doing business with the state MDOC but didn't want to play the game required. Most probably didn't know about it while there were some that suspected the requirements and just steered clear.
Despite many of the comments here and elsewhere, contracting with the state (MDOC or other agencies) is part of many businesses daily business. Hiring consultants, salespeople, lobbyists, etc to help bring the companies together with the agencies is perfectly legal, moral, ethical and normal. People that have a relationship with agency heads or staff of course use that relationship to try to get their clients in the bidding process.
But as long as the contracts are awarded to the lowest and best bid (not adjusted), based on a competitive RFP, is not bad business or politics. Granted, nothing in this Epps scandal fits that definition - but it does with most agencies in most administrations.
And it doesn't just happen in purchasing contracts for goods and services. Similar greed and corruption occurs in private business and in professions. (Remember Dickie Scruggs using influence and friends to buy verdicts?)
When it doesn't - they all should go to jail and forfeit anything and everything that they gained from the illegal activity.
4:23 said "Despite many of the comments here and elsewhere, contracting with the state (MDOC or other agencies) is part of many businesses daily business. Hiring consultants, salespeople, lobbyists, etc to help bring the companies together with the agencies is perfectly legal, moral, ethical and normal. People that have a relationship with agency heads or staff of course use that relationship to try to get their clients in the bidding process." I really like the point about relationships.The people who were able to secure the paper product contracts used the 4:23 "How To" blueprint.They hired the right connected consultants who used the insider relationship they have to get them in front of the agency head. 4:23 also stated "But as long as the contracts are awarded to the lowest and best bid (not adjusted), based on a competitive RFP, is not bad business or politics. Granted, nothing in this Epps scandal fits that definition." This is so correct.Epps had his own contract award system based on a customized profit sharing program. Sqeezing the Charmin with Epps to receive the contract for supplying paper products to the MDOC would surprise no one. At some point soon this will come to the surface from the depths of the ongoing federal investigation.
Doesn't the Attorney General's office have a full time staff position assigned to represent, guide and counsel the DOC Commish? Has all of this gone on to a total blind eye of AG Hood's office? And Mike Moore's?
"customized profit sharing plan" - That right there is an award winner....
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