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Tennessee State Representative Glen Casada and his former Chief of Staff, Cade Cothren Arrested for Conspiracy

By Paxton Elmore Aug 23, 2022 | 2:32 PM

According to WVLT, The Justice Department announced that Tennessee State Representative Glen Casada and his former Chief of Staff, Cade Cothren, were indicted on Monday by a federal grand jury and charged in a lengthy investigation involving bribery and kickbacks using federal funds.

63-year-old Casada and 35-year-old Cothren were arrested at their respective homes on Tuesday morning by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) and are scheduled to appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge.

Both men entered ‘not guilty’ pleas before the Magistrate Judge Alistair Newbern on Tuesday.

Both Casada and Cothren face multiple charges, including theft from programs receiving federal funds, bribery and kickbacks involving programs receiving federal funds, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud.

The 20-count indictment was unsealed on Tuesday morning, and also charges both Casada and Cothren with using fictitious names to execute fraud and eight counts of money laundering.

The indictment states the Casada and Cothren, in concert with another individual, began a fraudulent scheme to obtain state approval of Phoenix Solutions as the official vendor to provide constituent mail services to members of the Tennessee General Assembly.

The indictment states Casada told members of the General Assembly that Phoenix Solutions was run by an individual named Matthew Phoenix, when the company was actually operated by Cothren and Matthew Phoenix did not exist.

Casada, Cothren, and the third conspirator were able to hide their involvement with Phoenix Solutions by submitting fraudulent invoices for the purpose of funneling money from the state to Phoenix Solutions.

In 2020, Phoenix Solutions received nearly $52,000 from the state through the mailer program.

The F.B.I. handled the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda J. Klopf and Trial attorney John P. Taddei of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case.

Both Casada and Cothren face up to 20 years in prison, if convicted.