A federal judge in Missouri has ordered two former health care executives to pay $4.35 million to the government related to a public corruption scandal that brought down multiple Arkansas legislators, including former state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson.
U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes last week formally ordered the payment of restitution and forfeiture in the cases of Bontiea Bernedette Goss, 65, and her husband, Tommy Ray Goss, 68. The Gosses once ran Preferred Family Healthcare, a Missouri-based behavioral health care provider that once operated dozens of locations in Arkansas and received tens of millions of dollars from the state Medicaid program. Under their leadership, the nonprofit bribed Arkansas lawmakers to block reforms that might hurt Preferred Family Healthcare’s bottom line, among other favors.
Hutchinson, 50, a nephew of former Gov. Asa Hutchinson, is incarcerated in Memphis and is expected to be released Sept. 7, 2029, but is appealing his sentence.
The new court document, filed July 3, includes this telling breakdown of how the government came to the $4.35 million total:
Clearly, Jeremy Hutchinson, 50, far outdid former state Sens. Henry “Hank” Wilkins IV of Pine Bluff and Jon Woods of Springdale.
Wilkins, 69, was sentenced to a year and one day in prison and was released from prison in December 2023. Woods, 46, was sentenced to more than 18 years in prison and is due for release in July 2033. (In addition to his role in the Preferred Family Healthcare scandal, Woods was also charged over a kickback scheme centering on Ecclesia College, a private Christian college in Springdale.)
“Episodes of care” refers to an effort by the Arkansas Department of Human Services in the early 2010s to contain health care costs. (DHS runs the state’s Medicaid program.) As described in Hutchinson’s 2019 indictment, the Gosses and others at Preferred Family Healthcare believed DHS’ efforts to implement the cost-control reform would limit their ability to bill the state. Hutchinson worked to block or water down reform legislation, often working closely with lobbyist and Preferred Family Healthcare employee Milton “Rusty” Cranford. Cranford, 63, was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2019 but was released early in November 2022.
The order also describes how the Gosses used other corporate entities to overcharge Preferred Family Healthcare — which was kept afloat by public money — for services such as rental cars:
Defendants knew their private company White Dog Asset Holding (“WDAH”) was overcharging PFH for rental car leases over the course of four years. Defendants also overcharged PFH on the mortgage for the mountain house and lake house. Defendants also used PFH company plane to take unauthorized personal flights. In sum, Defendants utilized PFH funds for their personal benefit.
“Hayes” refers to former accountant David Hayes, who the judge said had embezzled more than $426,000 from Preferred Family Healthcare in order to hide the Gosses’ and Hayes’ crimes. Hayes, of Springfield, Missouri, died in November 2017 before he was sentenced. He had earlier pleaded guilty to two embezzlement schemes totaling more than $3 million and to failing to pay more than $2 million in taxes over the past six years.
Looking ahead, former state Sen. Eddie Wayne Cooper of Melbourne is to be sentenced Aug. 26 for his role in the bribery scandal. Cooper pleaded guilty in February 2018 to participating in a conspiracy to embezzle more than $4 million from Preferred Family Healthcare.