Woods Trial: Defendant dependent on college money, prosecutors say

Former state Sen. Jon Woods (right)
Former state Sen. Jon Woods (right)

UPDATE 12:45 p.m.:

The government rested its case shortly after noon Wednesday in the trial of ex-state Sen. Jon Woods and consultant Randell Shelton Jr. Oren Paris III, the former president of Ecclesia College in Springdale who pleaded guilty shortly before the trial began, was not called as a witness.

11:57 a.m.

FAYETTEVILLE — Ecclesia College accounted for almost all the money Randell Shelton deposited into his consulting company’s bank account, according to financial records compiled by the FBI.

Shelton is on trial, accused of passing kickbacks to former state Sen. Jon Woods and former state Rep. Micah Neal through his business, Paradigm Strategic Consulting, according to the indictment.

Defense attorneys have said the money transfers to and from Woods were loans and money to pay back loans.

The kickbacks were from state General Improvement Fund grants to Ecclesia College, which received $550,000 in such grants from the two now-former lawmakers, according to prosecutors. Oren Paris III, former president of Ecclesia College in Springdale, paid Shelton fees, and Shelton passed some of the money back to Woods and Neal, according to the indictment.

Woods of Springdale; Paris; and Shelton, formerly of Alma, were indicted in March 2017. Paris pleaded guilty April 4 to one count of conspiracy and is expected to testify for the government. He resigned as Ecclesia’s president and from the college’s governing board the day before entering his guilty plea.

Total deposits to Paradigm Strategic Consulting’s accounts from 2013 through 2015 were $285,994, with Ecclesia providing $267,500, or 93.4 percent, of all deposits.

Woods’ financial records show he made cash deposits to various accounts of his totaling $82,488 from 2012 through 2015. That includes $24,877 in 2013 and $37,782 in 2014, bank records show. This compares to $3,700 in 2012 and $16,138.89 in 2015.

Paradigm accounts show cash withdrawals, transfers directly to Woods and one transfer to the Plaid Jackets, a band Woods managed, totaling $284,391.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Elser described Paradigm in his opening statement April 10 as a “bogus company” with the purpose of passing kickbacks from Paris to Woods and Neal. Neal pleaded guilty on Jan. 4 of last year for his role.

Steven Williams, a forensic accountant for the FBI, detailed some of the accounting evidence in his testimony Wednesday.

Woods had $87,250 in loans from Arvest Bank between 2012 and 2014, all guaranteed by others, according to financial records presented today at his trial.

The U.S. Justice Department continued to detail Woods’ financial dealings during the time he’s accused of participating the kickback scheme.

Defense attorneys also brought out details to show Woods was current in repayment of those loans. The defense claimed the government is selectively putting bank records into evidence to portray the defendants’ finances as more precarious than the full record shows.

Christy Cops, fraud research specialist for Arvest Bank, had previously testified the bank loaned Woods $30,000 in 2012 guaranteed by Richard Roblee and two loans of $25,000 each in 2014 guaranteed by James Phillips. Former state Rep. Jonathan Barnett of Siloam Springs co-signed a $7,250 car loan for Woods in 2012, bank documents showed during Cops’ testimony.

Bank records showed Woods had at least four checking accounts and failed to consistently maintain a positive balance in any of them, according to Cops’ testimony.

Cops was back on the stand Wednesday and this morning. She testified Woods had a 20 percent stake in a roofing shingle recycling business founded by Paris and Shelton. The government also showed deposits to Shelton’s consulting company’s account by Ecclesia and expenses of the shingle company paid out of the same account.

Woods faces 15 counts of fraud, all relating to either wire or mail transfers of money. Paris and Shelton were named in 14 of the fraud charges. All three were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. Woods is also charged with one count of money laundering in connection with the purchase of a cashier’s check.

Woods and Neal also directed $400,000 in grant money to a nonprofit business called AmeriWorks, court and state records show. Neal said he received $20,000 delivered by Woods for steering $125,000 to AmeriWorks. Grant records show Woods directed $275,000 to the company.

AmeriWorks was incorporated by lobbyist Russell “Rusty” Cranford and described in a grant application as a work-training program. Cranford, 56, is set for trial June 11 in federal court in Springfield, Mo., on one count of conspiracy and eight counts of accepting bribes in an unrelated indictment.

Sign up for breaking news
& daily updates delivered
right to your inbox.




Upcoming Events