FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Former Charity CEO Pleads Guilty To Multi-Million-Dollar Political Corruption Scheme
The former CEO of a charity headquartered in Springfield, Missouri has pleaded guilty to her role in a multi-million-dollar political corruption scheme that involved bribes and campaign contributions for elected public officials in Missouri and Arkansas, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison of the Western District of Missouri.
Marilyn Luann Nolan, 68, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush on Friday, Nov. 9, to one count of conspiracy to embezzle and misapply the funds of a charitable organization that received federal funds.
By pleading guilty, Nolan admitted that she conspired with others from 2008 to June 30, 2017, to misapply millions of dollars of the charity’s funds for substantial, undisclosed payments to lobbying firms and political advocates, monetary and in-kind contributions to the campaigns of candidates for public office, and to bribe public officials. Nolan also admitted that she knew her co-conspirators defrauded the charity in order to enrich themselves, and her.
Nolan began working at Alternative Opportunities Inc., in 1992. In 2015, that company merged with Preferred Family Healthcare Inc., after which it continued to be known as Preferred Family Healthcare. Nolan was the chief executive officer and oversaw the charity’s lobbying and governmental affairs activities.
Preferred Family Healthcare and its subsidiaries provided a variety of services to individuals in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Illinois, including mental and behavioral health treatment and counseling, substance abuse treatment and counseling, employment assistance, aid to individuals with developmental disabilities and medical services.
Political Advocacy, Campaign Contributions, Fund-Raising Events
According to the plea agreement, Nolan and her conspirators caused the charity to misapply its funds to pay for political advocacy, including lobbying, that violated both IRS rules governing tax-exempt organizations, and federal laws and regulations governing recipients of federal grants and contracts. Nolan admitted that she directed and assisted her co-conspirators to direct millions of dollars to lobbyists, including Donald Andrew Jones and Milton Russell Cranford, who previously entered pleas of guilty to federal crimes in related cases. Nolan also directly lobbied legislators.
Under her plea agreement, Nolan also admitted that she and her conspirators:
Caused the charity to contribute financially to the campaigns of candidates for public office through “straw donors,” including the charity’s lobbyists, who were also reimbursed by way of invoices that were falsely described as “training” and “consulting” expenses;
Encouraged charity employees to contribute to candidates for public office and caused the charity to reimburse them for those contributions by providing funds falsely described as reimbursement for travel or other expenses the employees had not actually incurred; ………..
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-charity-ceo-pleads-guilty-multi-million-dollar-political-corruption-scheme