A Colorado husband and wife have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a multi-state, multi-million dollar corruption scheme that also put three Arkansas state legislators behind bars.
Tommy Ray Goss, 68, and Bontiea Bernedette Goss, 65, of Westminster, received six-year and three-year sentences, respectively, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release . Both were sentenced in the last week and a half.
They were named in a federal indictment handed down five years ago that detailed their embezzlement of funds which they paid to lobbyists and directly to lawmakers for several years in order to influence legislation to their benefit.
As part of their sentence, they were also ordered to reimburse $4.35 million to the Missouri-based charity from which they diverted funds and whose tax returns they later falsified to cover up the theft.
The Gosses were executive officers of that charity, Preferred Family Healthcare , beginning in 2005. At that time, they were residents of both Boulder and Springfield, Missouri, according to the indictment. (A search of public records indicates the Gosses moved from Boulder to Westminster in 2016).
The Gosses and the other two officers made up the 501(c)(3) non-profit's "Resource Team." The other two officers helped cover up the diverting of funds and actively participated in providing payments to the three Arkansas state lawmakers. One of those officers even bought hotel rooms and attended professional baseball games with them. He has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
Four other employees of the charity have pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy or concealment charges.
The Gosses each received just more than $36,000 in compensation in 2005 from Preferred Family Healthcare, according to the non-profit's tax returns cited in the indictment. Those amounts ballooned to $807,465 and $794,709 in 2016.
During that decade, the charity inadvertently loaned the couple more than $8,158,880 for their other for-profit business, according to prosecutors. The loans were interest-free every year until 2015, when the couple paid less than one percent.
Meantime, they used more than $1 million obtained to pay rent on two Arkansas properties - a "mountain house" with a stable and ponds, and a 5,292-square-foot house "lake house" with a private dock - with money fraudulently obtained from the healthcare non-profit between 2009 and 2015. They used an additional $2 million in charity funds, per the indictment, to purchase both properties in 2016, and described them in tax filings as "administrative buildings" purchased by the charity.
The Gosses also allegedly pocketed more than $900,000 by overcharging the charity for vehicles it leased, used the charity's money for private charter flights between Missouri and Boulder and back, and "caused the Charity to pay several of its employees to perform personal services for themselves, such as: caring for (Bontiea Goss)'s minor child, transporting their two dogs to the veterinarian and groomers, coordinating lawn care and home cleaning services, and running personal shopping errands," as stated in the indictment.
Preferred Family Healthcare provided mental and behavioral health treatment and counseling, substance abuse treatment and counseling, employment assistance, aid to individuals with developmental disabilities, and other medical services. In 2007 and 2011, the non-profit, headquartered in Kirksville, Missouri, acquired two Arkansas-based healthcare services. This apparently triggered the Gosses' interest in Arkansas legislation to the company's benefit.
For example, in 2013, then-Arkansas State Senator Jonathan E. Woods accepted $35,000 in cash payments from the charity's officers.
"Senator is taken care of. He is new bubba for our team," Tommy Goss wrote in an email to a colleague, as stated in the indictment.
Then-Arkansas State Representative Henry "Hank" Wilkins IV accepted a $30,000 deposit in the bank account of a church where he was a pastor. He also was paid $20,000 in cash over four years, per the indictment.
Similarly, then-Arkansas State Senator Senator Jeremy Hutchinson accepted approximately $15,000 in cash between 2012 and 2017. In 2014, he was hired by the charity for legal services and paid $9,000 per month. In total, he was paid more than $350,000 in charity funds, according to the indictment.
Meanwhile, two state bills entered the Arkansas senate in 2013.
One was SB-507, a proposed $1 million appropriation of funds for behavioral health services. Sens. Woods and Hutchison voted in favor of it. Rep. Wilkins did the same when it reached the House. Preferred Family Healthcare received a grant of more than $122,000 from the legislation.
Another bill, Senate Bill 350, made $2 million available to health services. It received the same votes from the three lawmakers. Then-Sen. Woods went so far as to email the charity's executives a revised application form that had not yet been publicly released, per the indictment.
Preferred Family Healthcare's grant for half of that $2 million was approved in full.
The Resource Team's lobbying also worked against legislation it disfavored. In particular, a series of initiatives brought forth by the Arkansas Department of Human Services which aimed to reduce excess charging for health care services by implementing a ratings system for providers. The initiatives sought to streamline patient care and increase transparency among the state's contracted providers and, according to the indictment, "would have placed measures and limitations on the Charity's ability to bill for healthcare services and seek reimbursement."
The indictment singles out House Bill 1129 which went before the Joint Budget Committee in 2014. Wilkins and Hutchinson were on that committee and voted in revisions on behalf of the charity.
When the bill passed the state legislature, a Resource Team member wrote the others in an email, "Now we can breathe and live to fight another day! It's over!", as stated in the indictment.
Former Sen. Hutchinson was sentenced earlier this year to eight years in prison.
Former Rep. Wilkins was sentenced to one year and one day behind bars.
Former Sen. Woods was sentenced to 18 years.
A fourth former lawmaker who worked as a lobbyist for the charity executives and received kickbacks is awaiting sentencing .
Federal law prohibits organizations registered with the Internal Revenue Service under 501(c)(3) status from participating in or contributing to political campaigns . The same restriction applies to charities which receive funding from federal grants.
Preferred Family Healthcare has agreed to repay $8 million to the state of Arkansas and the federal government. The organization publicly acknowledged the criminal behavior of its former employees staff. In exchange, the DOJ agreed to not pursue prosecution against it.
Some portion of the $4.35 million in restitution from the Gosses will come via forfeiture of assets.
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