Missouri Charity Scandal: Ex-administrators Jailed for Embezzlement and Bribery

Two former administrators of a Springfield, Missouri-based charity were imprisoned for their roles in a multimillion-dollar public corruption scam that included embezzlement and bribery of various elected public officials in Arkansas.

Bontiea Bernedette Goss, 65, was sentenced to three years in jail today, while her husband, Tommy “Tom” Ray Goss, 68, received a six-year sentence on April 25. They were also sentenced to pay a combined $4.35 million in forfeiture and/or restitution.

According to court records, Bontiea and Tom Goss were the former chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Preferred Family Healthcare Inc., a nonprofit that provides various services to people in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Illinois. Some of these services included mental and behavioral health therapy and counseling, substance addiction treatment and counseling, employment support, assistance for people with developmental disabilities, and medical care.

In exchange for the bribes and kickbacks offered and paid by the Gosses and their co-conspirators, Arkansas elected officials provided favorable legislative and official action for the charity, including, but not limited to, influencing legislation that would affect the charity and directing funds from the State’s General Improvement Fund.

In September 2022, Bontiea and Tom Goss pleaded guilty to conspiring to pay bribes and kickbacks to Arkansas political officials. Tom Goss also admitted to participating in the conspiracy by embezzling charity monies, as well as one count of aiding and assisting in the creation and presentation of a fraudulent tax return. In 2022, Preferred Family Healthcare also agreed to pay more than $8 million in forfeiture and restitution to the federal government and the state of Arkansas as part of a non-prosecution agreement that acknowledged the criminal activity of its former officials and employees.

As part of this long-running, multi-jurisdictional federal investigation, more former charity officials, former members of the Arkansas state legislature, and others pleaded guilty in federal court, including the following:

• Marilyn Luann Nolan, former CEO of Springfield, Missouri, pled guilty in November 2018 to a conspiracy to steal and misappropriate funds from a charitable organization that received federal funds.
• Robin Raveendran, former Director of Operations and Executive Vice President from Little Rock, Arkansas, pled guilty in June 2019 to conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with federally funded programs.
• Keith Fraser Noble, former Executive and Head of Clinical Operations from Rogersville, Missouri, pleaded guilty in September 2019 to concealing a known offense.
• Milton Russell Cranford, also known as Rusty, a former employee and the head of operations and lobbying in Arkansas, was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of federal program bribery.
• Political strategist Donald Andrew Jones, commonly known as D.A. Jones, of Willingboro, New Jersey, pled guilty in December 2017 to his role in a conspiracy to steal from a federally funded organization between April 2011 and January 2017.
• Former Arkansas State Senator Jeremy Hutchinson of Little Rock pleaded guilty on June 25, 2019, in the Eastern District of Arkansas to filing a false tax return; on June 25, 2019, to an information filed in the Western District of Arkansas to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery; and on July 8, 2019, in the Western District of Missouri to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. Hutchinson was sentenced to 8 years in jail.
• Eddie Wayne Cooper, a former Arkansas state representative from Melbourne, Arkansas, pled guilty in February 2018 to conspiring to embezzle more than $4 million from Preferred Family Healthcare.
• Former Arkansas State Senator and State Representative Henry “Hank” Wilkins IV pled guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery and developing a scheme to defraud and deprive Arkansas citizens of their right to honest services. Wilkins was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in jail.

U.S. Attorneys Teresa A. Moore for the Western District of Missouri, Jonathan D. Ross for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and David Clay Fowlkes for the Western District of Arkansas; Special Agent in Charge Thomas F. Murdock of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) St. Louis Field Office; Assistant Director Michael Nordwall of the

The cases were examined by the IRS-CI, the FBI, and the Inspectors General of the Departments of Justice, Labor, and the FDIC.

The cases are being prosecuted by Acting Deputy Chief Marco A. Palmieri, Trial Attorneys Jacob Steiner and Aaron Jennen of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall Eggert for the Western District of Missouri, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Mazzanti for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ben Wulff and Steven M. Mohlhenrich for the Western District.