A former Tennessee State official and a corporate executive have been indicted for allegedly working in cahoots to obstruct justice and commit perjury related to a multi-million dollar state contract for inmate behavioral health services. Wesley Olan Landers, the former deputy commissioner and chief financial officer for the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC), and Jeffrey Scott Wells, former vice president of Company B, stand accused of conspiracy in a case that's shining a grim light on the murky intersections of state operations and private enterprise.
With respective residencies in Cumming and Canton, Georgia, the 55-year-old Landers and 54-year-old Wells are in the crosshairs of federal prosecutors. The charge came down by felony information, which often indicates a defendant has agreed to waive a grand jury indictment. As the Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, Thomas J. Jaworski has announced, the conspiracy unfolds against a backdrop of a staggering $123 million contract once destined for Company B to provide TDOC inmate services.
The detailed charges, as the depth of the alleged conspiracy is plumbed by authorities, involve Landers leveraging his then-role as a state official to supply Wells with confidential information during the contract's bidding process, assisting Company B's maneuvering to secure the lucrative agreement. The court documents reveal that this intricate dance of corruption escalated to Landers nabbing a cushy vice president position at Company B on March 1, 2020, where Wells was his supervisor. This transpired spectacularly without the guise of a competitive hiring process; Landers was handpicked, with no interviews, no advertisement – a tailor-made position awaiting his arrival.
However, the scheme began to crumble when Company A, the embattled contemporary in a bid for the contract in question, filed a lawsuit and cast subpoenas into the fray. In the ensuing legal tussle, both Landers and Wells reportedly sought to cover their tracks. They allegedly chose to hide evidence and fabricate stories whilst under oath, as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Taylor J. Phillips and M. Scott Cole are aiming to prove in court. According to the federal lawsuit, they attempted to sidestep justice by wiping emails, acquiring new phones to communicate, and lying on record about their covert discussions and document exchanges concerning the contract RFPs.
A conviction for these charges could lead to serious time behind bars, with both Landers and Wells facing up to five years if found guilty. The case is currently in the hands of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Memphis Field Office, Nashville Resident Agency, which suggests the shadow of the federal hammer looms large for the erstwhile state officer and his corporate correspondent. The investigation continues as the justice system wrangles with the muddied waters of legality and the breach of trust at the confluence of governmental responsibilities and private sector ambitions.
