Guilty plea set for last defendant in prison bribery scheme

Christopher Epps

By JEFF AMY
Associated Press

Christopher Epps
Christopher Epps

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The final person facing charges in an alleged kickback scheme involving Mississippi’s former corrections commissioner plans to plead guilty.

Federal court records show insurance agent Guy “Butch” Evans will plead guilty April 24.

Evans was indicted in 2016 for paying more than $20,000 in bribes to then-Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps in exchange for the prison system’s insurance business.

A grand jury indicted Evans on charges of conspiracy and bribery, which carry a possible prison sentence of up to 30 years. However, court papers say Evans will waive indictment and plead guilty to a separate charge that prosecutors have not yet filed.

Epps acknowledged accepting more than $1.4 million in bribes from private contractors and is serving a nearly 20-year prison sentence. Eight other people have been convicted so far.

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