(AP) – A federal appeals court has upheld the seven-year prison sentence of a northeast Arkansas businessman convicted of bribery and wire fraud.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that judges on Thursday upheld the 2016 convictions and correlating sentence of Ted Suhl, who jurors found paid up to $20,000 in cash bribes over four years to a state health official in hopes of receiving inside information to benefit his businesses. Suhl owned Maxus Inc. and Trinity Behavioral Health.
Suhl argued in his appeal that a federal judge improperly defined the crime of bribery in analyzing his indictment and instructing jurors; committed evidentiary errors; and unreasonably calculated the amount of loss related to the crime.
But the judges wrote in their opinion Thursday that they’re unconvinced, citing Suhl’s effort to increase his companies’ Medicaid reimbursement rates by paying the state official.
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