Tennessee official and executive accused of rigging a bid on a $123M contract are charged

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A former Tennessee prison official and a former executive at a private contractor have been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and commit perjury after they were accused of rigging a bid on a $123 million contract, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

In a lawsuit filed in 2020, Tennessee-based prison contractor Corizon claimed the Tennessee Department of Correction’s former chief financial officer, Wesley Landers, sent internal emails related to the behavioral health care contract to former Vice President Jeffrey Wells of rival company Centurion of Tennessee. Centurion won the contract, and Landers got a “cushy” job with a Centurion affiliate in Georgia, according to the lawsuit, which was settled in 2022.

A statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee announced on Tuesday criminal charges against Landers and Wells. Neither immediately responded to emails seeking comment.

Although the statement does not name Centurion and Corizon, it refers to the same accusations in Corizon’s lawsuit.

Corizon’s lawsuit accused Landers of sending internal Tennessee Department of Correction communications to a home Gmail account and then forwarding them to Wells, including a draft of the request for proposals for the new contract that had not been made public.

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