Before the 16-count corruption ruling, the former legislative official was seen outside of Federal Court with Ava Colby. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
The former House official received a 30-month prison sentence on Tuesday and has been ordered to pay a $25,000 penalty for involvement in a kickback scheme utilizing the state’s member mailer program.
Cade Koren, who stepped down as chief of staff to ex-speaker Glen Casada in 2019, will also face a year on probation following his time in federal prison. Koren’s legal team indicated plans to appeal the convictions from trials held over four weeks in April and May.
The sentencing hearing for Casada has been delayed until September 23, mainly because the court took some time to finalize Koren’s sentence.
U.S. District Court Judge Eli Richardson faced challenges regarding the punishment as federal prosecutors overcame numerous objections from the defense while seeking substantial penalties.
Former Tennessee House Speaker Glenn Casada and a former aide were found guilty in a federal corruption case.
Casada and Koren were convicted of creating a covert company named Phoenix Solutions, which exploited the state mail and printing program that allows House members to use up to $3,000 each year. Casada and ex-MP Robin Smith confessed to their roles and testified against Koren, exposing the connections to Phoenix Solutions.
Judge Richardson determined that the case did not involve $158,000 linked to a campaign for the House Republican Caucus or funds gathered from both work and individual lawmakers. Still, he noted that Koren managed “complicated” money laundering techniques to obscure the operations of the scheme.
Trial evidence indicated that, following the resignation of several lawmakers over a scandal involving racist and sexist text messages, Koren had difficulty engaging with the company, as the remaining lawmakers were reluctant to cooperate with him.
Casada ultimately resigned as House Speaker after Republicans expressed a lack of confidence amid controversies involving leadership maneuvers, text message scandals, and the creation of a “Billkill” list.
