Two men, including a former member of Gov. Bill Lee’s administration, have been charged with felonies related to a multimillion-dollar state contract for behavioral health services
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A former public official and a former corporate executive have both been charged with felonies in connection with a multimillion-dollar state behavioral health services contract, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Wesley Landers, 55, of Cumming, Georgia, and Jeffrey Wells, 54, of Canton, Georgia, have been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and to commit perjury in connection with a $123 million contract for behavioral health services for the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC).
The DOJ said Landers was the Deputy Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer for TDOC from 2012 until March 2020. From at least 2018 until February of 2021, Wells was the vice president of an unnamed company, labeled only as Company B.
According to the DOJ, TDOC had a contract for behavioral health services with a different company, labeled Company A, for all inmates in 2019. When state officials knew the contract was set to expire, they sent out a request for proposals (RFP) for a new contract. Through the bid process, Wells’s company, Company B, was awarded the new contract, valued at $123,513,819, in July 2020.
However, before the new contract was awarded, Landers allegedly used his personal email to provide confidential TDOC information related to the bidding process to Wells. This allegedly occurred from September 2018 until February 2020, according to the DOJ.
When Landers left TDOC, he was then hired at Company B as the Vice President of Operations, where he reported to Wells.
This position, the DOJ said, was created specifically for Landers; it was not advertised to other candidates and neither Landers nor any other candidates were interviewed before he was hired.
By February 2021, the DOJ said senior leadership at the company learned Landers had given Wells confidential TDOC information during the RFP process, and the CEO of the company fired them both.
The information came out after Company A filed a civil lawsuit related to the RFPs in October 2020, according to the DOJ. That lawsuit named both Company B and the State of Tennessee as defendants in the suit. Both Landers and Wells were issued subpoenas for all their TDOC RFP-related communications.
According to the DOJ, Landers and Wells actively impeded the investigation by conspiring to commit perjury in the federal suit and covering up alleged bribery on their parts.
Landers allegedly began using a “specialized program” to delete his personal emails with Wells that were related to the subpoenas. Landers and Wells also got new cellphones which they used to discuss the need to hide information in response to the subpoenas and deposition notices, per the DOJ. The two also gave false testimony during their depositions, including about whether they shared documents related to the RFPs, when they last spoke, and if they communicated on WhatsApp, the DOJ said.
While charges are merely an accusation and no one has been adjudicated, if convicted, both men face up to five years imprisonment.