NASHVILLE – Wesley Olan Landers, 55, of Cumming, Georgia, and Jeffrey Scott Wells, 54, of Canton, Georgia, have been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and commit perjury. The charges relate to a $123 million contract for providing behavioral health services to inmates of the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC), as announced by Thomas J. Jaworski, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Landers served as the Deputy Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer for TDOC from 2012 until March 2020. Wells was a Vice President at Company B from at least 2018 until February 2021.
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In 2019, Company A provided behavioral health services to TDOC inmates. As the contract neared expiration, Tennessee issued Requests for Proposals (RFP) for a new contract. Several vendors submitted bids, and in July 2020, the state announced its intent to award the $123,513,819 contract to Company B.
Between September 2018 and February 2020, while still a state official, Landers used his personal email to share confidential TDOC information with Wells. On March 1, 2020, Landers joined Company B as Vice President of Operations, a role created specifically for him without a competitive hiring process. By February 2021, Company B’s leadership discovered the information sharing, leading to the termination of both Landers and Wells.
In October 2020, Company A filed a federal civil lawsuit in Nashville, naming Company B and the State of Tennessee among the defendants. Landers and Wells were subpoenaed for documents and testimony related to the RFPs.
To obstruct the FBI’s investigation into potential bribery and to conceal the exchange of confidential information, Landers and Wells attempted a cover-up and committed perjury during the civil lawsuit. Landers used a special program to delete emails and both individuals acquired new cell phones to discuss hiding information. They provided false testimony under oath regarding their communications and document sharing.
If convicted, both defendants face up to five years in federal prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Memphis Field Office, Nashville Resident Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Taylor J. Phillips and M. Scott Cole are prosecuting the case.
An information is merely an accusation, and all defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty.
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Source: Read Original Release
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