Key dates in Hutchinson career and probe
Jeremy Hutchinson, 45, served six terms in the Arkansas Legislature before resigning in August 2018. Other key dates, according to federal and state court documents and other public records:
March 7, 2000 Wins first race in special election in House District 53 for Pulaski and Saline counties. Serves three more consecutive House terms until 2007.
2006 Graduates from UALR William H. Bowen School of Law. Works for a Texarkana, Texas, law firm. Nov. 2, 2010 Wins election to Arkansas Senate, District 22, representing parts of Pulaski and Saline counties.
2011 Starts his own law firm in Benton.
June 2, 2011 Divorce decree from wife Stephanie Hutchinson.
Aug. 24, 2012 Girlfriend Julie McGee turns over laptop computer to FBI, saying Hutchinson illegally misspent campaign money and accepted payments from Texarkana lawyer John Goodson in exchange for political favors.
June 2014 FBI interviews Hutchinson during an investigation into Goodson and Hutchinson. Hutchinson becomes a confidential FBI source in early July, but says he has nothing to offer on Goodson. Tells about an “extortion attempt” involving state Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, and Preferred Family Healthcare Inc. of Missouri executive Milton “Rusty” Cranford.
February 2015 FBI closes investigation into Hutchinson and Goodson. Aug. 2, 2016 FBI ends Hutchinson’s role as a confidential informant, citing his “questionable relationships with current FBI subjects.”
Jan. 4, 2017 Former Rep. Micah Neal, R-Springdale, becomes first lawmaker to admit wrongdoing in widespread federal investigation into political corruption in Arkansas and Missouri. Over the next two years, three more former Arkansas legislators, including Woods, plead guilty to or are convicted of federal crimes.
March 2017 FBI reopens investigation into Hutchinson, with new information about reported payments for legislative favors involving Goodson.
June 15, 2018 Preferred Family Healthcare, which once paid Hutchinson $9,000 a month for legal and consultant services, sues him, claiming he failed to show up for hearings or respond to court motions in a civil suit against the company. Preferred Family seeks $383,805 in damages.
Aug. 31, 2018 Federal grand jury in Little Rock, indictment unsealed, cites Hutchinson on 12 counts of wire and tax fraud, saying he misspent campaign donations for personal use and underreported income on federal tax forms. Hutchinson resigns his state Senate seat, claims innocence. March 15, 2019 Arkansas Ethics Commission fines Hutchinson $11,000 over violations of state campaign-finance reporting laws.
March 18, 2019 A federal judge dismisses the Preferred Family lawsuit against Hutchinson after the parties reach a confidential settlement.
April 11, 2019 Hutchinson pleads innocent to a second round of federal charges, these in Springfield, Mo., connected to bribery conspiracy. He faces 12 counts, including taking bribes, honest services fraud and theft from a program receiving federal funds. Co-defendants are former Preferred Family Healthcare executives Tom and Bontiea Goss, who also plead innocent.
Monday Hutchinson signals in court filings that he’s ready to plead guilty.
Tuesday The former state senator pleads guilty in federal court in Little Rock to two federal crimes: filing false tax returns, from the August indictment, and conspiracy to commit bribery, from a new charge filed Monday in Fayetteville. He also agrees to plead guilty to a third count, conspiracy, in western Missouri on July 8. Faces up to 13 years in prison, plus unspecified fines and restitution.