Dirty South Bribery and Embezzlement Scheme

A former executive of a Springfield, Missouri charity, pleads guilty in federal court. The circumstances surrounding the guilty plea include bribing several Arkansas state government officials in a multi-million-dollar bribery and embezzlement scheme. And further, the scheme involves other charity executives, wherein the former executive embezzles millions of dollars from a health care organization in Missouri.

Milton “Rusty” Cranford, originally from Rogers, Arkansas, is the perpetrator behind the criminal scheme. Cranford pleads guilty to one count of federal program bribery. Cranford, an executive at Preferred Family Healthcare Inc. (formerly known as Alternative Opportunities Inc.), runs a nonprofit corporation headquartered in Springfield, Missouri. His primary responsibility is to run the charity’s operations and lobbying efforts in the state of Arkansas. Additionally, Cranford manages three lobbying firms: The Cranford Coalition, The Capital Hill Coalition and Outcomes of Arkansas.