Tennessee official and manager accused of rigging bid for $123 million contract face charges

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A former Tennessee prison official and a former executive at a private construction company have been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and perjury after being accused of rigging the bidding for a $123 million contract, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

In a lawsuit filed in 2020, Tennessee-based prison contractor Corizon alleged that former Tennessee Department of Correction CFO Wesley Landers sent internal emails related to the behavioral health care contract to former vice president Jeffrey Wells of rival company Centurion of Tennessee. Centurion won the contract and Landers got a “cushy” job at a Centurion subsidiary in Georgia, according to the lawsuit, which was settled in 2022.

A statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee announced Tuesday that charges had been filed against Landers and Wells. Neither man immediately responded to emails seeking comment.

Although the statement does not name Centurion and Corizon, it refers to the same allegations in Corizon's lawsuit.

Corizon's lawsuit accused Landers of sending internal Tennessee Department of Correction messages to a private Gmail account and then forwarding them to Wells, including a draft request for proposals for the new contract that had not been made public.

Meanwhile, the performance bond for the mental health contract was increased from $1 million to $118 million, making the contract virtually unaffordable for the smaller company, Corizon, which had won the two previous bids. The lawsuit also accused state authorities of increasing the contract to $123 million after Centurion won it because the cost of obtaining a $118 million performance bond was so high that it would cut into Centurion's profits. Mental health services include psychiatric and addiction treatment.

According to the lawsuit, Centurion fired Wells and Landers in February 2021.

In Tuesday's statement, federal prosecutors said Landers and Wells conspired to cover up their arrangement after Corizon sued them and issued subpoenas for communications between the two. Landers used a special program to delete emails and both obtained new cellphones to discuss how to hide information and lied in their statements, the statement said. If convicted, both men face up to five years in a federal prison.