Martha Shoffner, the former Arkansas treasurer, has filed her expected motion that a federal judge set aside her conviction by a jury of taking money from a bond broker for state investment business.
Fox 16 reports on the motion, which contends that the charges lack a connection to interstate commerce or other grounds to mount the federal bribery prosecution. Shoffner, who is free pending sentencing, also faces another trial on federal charges related to personal use of campaign contributions.
Broker Steele Stephens testified that he delivered a total of $36,000 cash to Shoffner in six payments to help her out. He said he expected it would help his business. He earned $2.5 million in commissions during the time she was treasurer and directing a disproportionate share of the business his way. She resigned office after her arrest by the FBI, which sent Stephens into Shoffner’s Newport home wired with a video camera and an apple pie in a box that included a $6,000 roll of hundred-dollar bills.